Air Pollution and Metabolomics in Maternal Serum

Abstract

Background: Studies have shown that maternal exposed to air pollution can increase the risk of a variety of neurodevelopmental disorders. However, air pollution cannot be considered a well-established risk factor, partially due to a lack of valid exposure assessment methodology. Assessing environmental metabolomic profiles using high-resolution metabolomics (HRM) is a novel tool to investigate air pollution exposure history and related biological mechanism.Objectives: The aim of this study is to comprehensively profile metabolomics in the blood of women in mid-pregnancy and identify perturbations in metabolites and metabolic pathways associated with air pollution exposure by using HRM.Methods: We retrieved stored maternal serum samples from the mid-pregnancy alpha-fetoprotein testing program in California for a largely immigrant Hispanic community of women living in the Central Valley of California, a region with high particulate air pollution exposures. We developed measures of air pollution exposure at the mothers birth address. By using HRM, we identified significant metabolites and metabolic pathways within 99 exposed mothers and 62 unexposed mothers. Statistical methods include univariates analysis, multivariates analysis, and pathway enrichment analysis.Results: A set of 3917 metabolic features resulting from HRM were used for discriminant analysis and pathway analysis. We have identified 25 metabolites which can properly classify the air pollution exposure status with over 80% accuracy. Pathway analysis showed that air pollution exposure associated with leukotriene metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and pyrimidine and purine metabolism pathways.Conclusions: We found that maternal exposed to air pollution during pregnancy could potentially affect inflammation and oxidative stress-related metabolism, which may then contribute to the development of neurodevelopmental disorders in the offspring.