NHC Key Lab of Reproduction Regulation (Shanghai Institute for Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Technologies), School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2022 Jun 1;237:113512. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2022.113512. Epub 2022 Apr 13.
Maternal exposure to ambient fine particulate matters (PM) is associated with low birth weight (LBW) in offspring, but the underlying biological mechanisms are not yet fully understood. As the bridge that connects mother and fetus, the placenta plays a crucial role in fetal development by providing the fetus with nutrients and oxygen. However, whether PM exposure would impact the placental development and the related mechanisms are unclear.
In the present study, female C57Bl/6j mice were exposed to filtered air (FA) or concentrated ambient PM (CAP) during pregestational and gestational periods, and the fetal development and placental structure were investigated. Our results showed that maternal exposure to CAP induced fetal growth restriction (FGR) and LBW. The placenta from CAP-exposed mice exhibited abnormal development including significant decrease of surface area, smaller junctional zone and impaired spiral artery remodeling. Meanwhile, CAP exposure altered trophoblast lineage differentiation and disrupted the balance between angiogenic and angiostatic factors in placenta. In addition, the inflammatory cytokines levels in lung, placenta and serum were significantly increased after ambient PM exposure.
Our findings indicate that maternal exposure to PM disrupts normal structure and spiral artery remodeling of placenta and further induces FGR and LBW. This effect may be caused by the placental inflammation response subsequent to the pulmonary and systemic inflammation induced by ambient PM exposure.
母体暴露于环境细颗粒物（PM）与后代的低出生体重（LBW）有关，但潜在的生物学机制尚不完全清楚。胎盘作为连接母体和胎儿的桥梁，通过为胎儿提供营养和氧气，在胎儿发育中起着至关重要的作用。然而，PM 暴露是否会影响胎盘发育及其相关机制尚不清楚。
在本研究中，雌性 C57Bl/6j 小鼠在妊娠前和妊娠期间分别暴露于过滤空气（FA）或浓缩环境 PM（CAP），并研究了胎儿发育和胎盘结构。我们的结果表明，母体暴露于 CAP 会导致胎儿生长受限（FGR）和 LBW。来自 CAP 暴露小鼠的胎盘表现出异常发育，包括表面面积显著减小、连接区更小以及螺旋动脉重塑受损。同时，CAP 暴露改变了滋养层谱系分化，并破坏了胎盘内血管生成和血管抑制因子之间的平衡。此外，暴露于环境 PM 后，肺、胎盘和血清中的炎症细胞因子水平显著升高。
我们的研究结果表明，母体暴露于 PM 会破坏胎盘的正常结构和螺旋动脉重塑，进一步导致 FGR 和 LBW。这种影响可能是由环境 PM 暴露引起的肺部和全身炎症引起的胎盘炎症反应所致。
