quantification-three-dna-lesions-mass-spectrometry-assessment-their

Quantification of three DNA Lesions by Mass Spectrometry and Assessment of Their Levels in Tissues of Mice Exposed to Ambient Fine Particulate Matter

DNA adducts and oxidized DNA bases are examples of DNA lesions that are useful biomarkers for the toxicity assessment of substances that are ...

Universidade De São Paulo (USP)

Universidade de São Paulo

Air pollution is an important environmental health risk factor that can result in many different gestational and reproductive negative outcomes. In this study, we have investigated the effects of two different times of exposure (before conception and during pregnancy) to urban ambient particulate matter on reproductive and pregnancy outcomes in mice. Using exposure chambers receiving filtered (F) and non-filtered (NF) air, we observed that exposed females exhibited changes in the length of estrus cycle and extended estrus and, therefore, a reduction in the number of cycles during the studied period (F 2.6 +/- 0.22 and NF 1.2 +/- 0.29, p = 0.03). The mean number of antral follicles declined by 36% (p = 0.04) in NF mice (75 +/- 35.2) compared to F mice (118.6 +/- 18.4). Our results further indicate a significant increase in time necessary for mating and decreased fertility and pregnancy indices (p = 0.003) in NF couples. Mean post-implantation loss rates were increased by 70% (p < or = 0.005) in the NF2 group (exposed before and during pregnancy to NF air) compared to the F1 group (exposed before and during pregnancy to F air) and were influenced by both pre-gestational (p < 0.004) and gestational (p < 0.01) period exposure. Fetal weight was significantly higher in the F1 group when compared with the other groups (p < 0.001), at a 20% higher weight in the F1 group (0.86 +/- 0.18 g) than in the NF2 group (0.68 +/- 0.10 g). Furthermore, fetal weight was influenced by both pre-gestational and gestational period exposure, and a significant interaction between these two factors was found (p < 0.001). This study demonstrated that exposure to ambient levels of urban traffic-generated particulate matter negatively affects different functions and stages of the reproductive process. Our results also reinforce the idea that maternal exposure to air pollution is linked to negative pregnancy outcomes, even if the exposure occurs only before conception.

Chronic exposure to fine particulate matter emitted by traffic affects reproductive and fetal outcomes in mice.

Previous studies have shown that particulate matter (PM) compromise birth weight and placental morphology. We hypothesized that exposing mice to ambient PM would affect umbilical cord (UC) morphology. To test this, mice were kept in paired open-top exposure chambers at the same location and ambient conditions but, in one chamber, the air was filtered (F) and, in the other, it was not (NF). UCs were analysed stereologically and by immunohistochemistry to localize isoprostane and endothelin receptors. The cords of mice from NF chambers were smaller in volume due to loss of mucoid connective tissue and decrease in volume of collagen. These structural changes and in umbilical vessels were associated with greater volumes of regions immunostained for isoprostane, ET(A)R and ET(B)R. Findings indicate that the adverse effects of PM on birth weight may be mediated in part by alterations in UC structure or imbalances in the endogenous regulators of vascular tone and oxidative stress.

The effects of particulate ambient air pollution on the murine umbilical cord and its vessels: a quantitative morphological and immunohistochemical study.

Various environmental contaminants are known to impair the growth trajectories of major organs, indirectly (gestational exposure) or directly (postnatal exposure). Evidence associates pre-gestational and gestational exposure to air pollutants with adverse birth outcomes (e.g., low birth weight, prematurity) and with a wide range of diseases in childhood and later in life. In this review, we explore the way that pre-gestational and gestational exposure to air pollution affects lung development. We present results in topics underlining epidemiological and toxicological evidence. We also provide a summary of the biological mechanisms by which air pollution exposure possibly leads to adverse respiratory outcomes. We conclude that gestational and early life exposure to air pollutants are linked to alterations in lung development and function and to other negative respiratory conditions in childhood (wheezing, asthma) that may last into adulthood. Plausible mechanisms encompass changes in maternal physiology (e.g., hypoxia, oxidative stress and inflammation) and DNA alterations in the fetus. Evidence for pre-gestational and gestational effects on the lung is scarce compared with that on early life exposure and further studies are needed. However, the suggested mechanisms are credible and the evidence of pre-gestational and gestational air pollution exposure is robust for adverse birth outcomes. Air pollutants might change lung developmental trajectories of the unborn child predisposing it to diseases later in life highlighting the urgent need for controls on urban air pollution levels worldwide.

Article	Year
Chronic exposure to fine particulate matter emitted by traffic affects reproductive and fetal outcomes in mice. Environmental research\| PubMed ID: 19394924	2009
The effects of particulate ambient air pollution on the murine umbilical cord and its vessels: a quantitative morphological and immunohistochemical study. Reproductive toxicology (Elmsford, N.Y.)\| PubMed ID: 22975478	2012
Before the first breath: prenatal exposures to air pollution and lung development. Cell and tissue research\| PubMed ID: 27726025	2017

Mariana Veras

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