Abstract
The Mother and Child Environmental Cohort (MACE) study piloted in South Africa in 2010 to 2011, collected genetic, biochemical and clinical data from pregnant females residing in south and north Durban. We evaluated birth outcomes and the influence of GSTM1pos→GSTM1null and theGSTP1 (Ile105Val; AA→AG/GG) polymorphisms on the extent of DNA damage and with biomarkers [glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA)] related to oxidative stress in mothers with different levels of pollutant exposure. There was no significant difference in adverse birth outcomes or genotype distribution between mothers from the exposed and lower exposed areas. Mean GSH and comet tail length did not differ significantly between GSTM1pos and GSTM1null genotypes. When stratified by genotype, mean MDA levels was higher among GSTM1 null mothers compared to the GSTM1pos mothers (p = 0.01). When each of the genotypes was stratified by exposure, mean GSH concentration was significantly higher in north Durban for theGSTM1pos, GSTM1null and GSTP1AG+GG genotypes (p < 0.05), and mean comet tail length was significantly increased in south Durban among participants with the GSTM1pos, GSTM1null, and the GSTP1AG+GG genotypes. The expression of GSTM1 and GSTP1 polymorphic genotypes may lead to varying susceptibility to the adverse effects of pollutants by modifying the response to oxidative stress. Key words: Glutathione S-transferase Mu 1 (GSTM1), glutathione S-transferase pi gene(GSTP1), oxidative stress, birth cohort, glutathione, gene polymorphism, DNA damage.
Highlights
Evidence suggests that environmental air pollution is associated with an elevated risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes (Glinianaia et al, 2004; Maisionet et al, 2004)
There were more babies born at less than 36 weeks gestation in the south compared to the north (16 versus 10), and there were 7 babies born with birth weights lower than 2500 g in south Durban compared to 2 innorth Durban
While fewer studies have been done on GSTP1 and populations from Africa, we found that 66% of the mothers carried the GSTP1AG+GG genotype which was comparable to a previous study among South Africans and Tunisians (Reddy et al, 2010; Hanene et al, 2007)
Summary
Evidence suggests that environmental air pollution is associated with an elevated risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes (Glinianaia et al, 2004; Maisionet et al, 2004). Fetuses are considered to be highly susceptible to a variety of toxicants because their developing organ systems can be more vulnerable to environmental toxicants during critical periods of growth (Perera et al, 1999; Sram et al, 1999, 2005), prenatal exposure to pollution may result in adverse birth outcomes and have implications for poorer health at later stages. Genetic factors interact with environmental exposures to determine disease risk (Adeyemo and Rotimi, 2010). Africa’s genetic diversity, coupled with environmental exposures linked to disease burdens remains with relatively unexplored. Most existing birth cohorts are in high income countries, relatively few in low- and middle-income countries (Lawlor et al, 2009). A systematic review by Campbell and Rudan (2011) revealed that of the 28 birth cohorts in sub Saharan Africa, 14 collected biological data while only one collected DNA for storage
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