Prenatal air pollution exposures, maternal cytokine/chemokines, and risk of autism spectrum disorder: the early markers for autism (EMA) study.

Abstract

Intro: Increasing evidence suggests that both air pollutants and immune system dysregulation may be associated with adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the relationship between these two risk factors in the context of subsequent developmental outcomes has yet to be elucidated. Methods: Mother-child pairs were from a population-based, nested case-control study in Southern California with mothers of children with ASD (n=378), developmental delay (DD; n=165), and typically development (GP; n=416). Mid-gestation regional air pollutant measures were estimated using the Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Quality System (NO2, PM10, PM2.5, Ozone) and the near roadway air pollution (NRAP) data. A subset of 9 maternal mid-gestational serum cytokines/chemokines previously linked with ASD or DD were quantified using Luminex. Prenatal levels of air pollutants and maternal cytokines/chemokines were examined for each group separately using Spearman’s correlation. Results: While all groups displayed negative correlations between maternal cytokines/chemokines and NO2, correlation patterns with PM10, PM2.5, and ozone were quite variable across the different case groups. Correlation patterns of cytokines/chemokines and NRAP were largely positive for the case groups, with the exception of IFN-γ and MCP-1. Conclusion: Associations between mid-gestational maternal cytokines/chemokines and air pollutants varied in direction and magnitude across the groups and may provide further insight on their potential role(s) in risk of ASD and DD.