Centre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium.
Department of Biological Sciences, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada.
Environ Health Perspect. 2023 Jan;131(1):17010. doi: 10.1289/EHP11257. Epub 2023 Jan 31.
The gut microbiome plays an essential role in human health. Despite the link between air pollution exposure and various diseases, its association with the gut microbiome during susceptible life periods remains scarce.
In this study, we examined the association between black carbon particles quantified in prenatal and postnatal biological matrices and bacterial richness and diversity measures, and bacterial families.
A total of 85 stool samples were collected from 4- to 6-y-old children enrolled in the ENVIRonmental influence ON early AGEing birth cohort. We performed 16S rRNA gene sequencing to calculate bacterial richness and diversity indices (Chao1 richness, Shannon diversity, and Simpson diversity) and the relative abundance of bacterial families. Black carbon particles were quantified via white light generation under femtosecond pulsed laser illumination in placental tissue and cord blood, employed as prenatal exposure biomarkers, and in urine, used as a post-natal exposure biomarker. We used robust multivariable-adjusted linear models to examine the associations between quantified black carbon loads and measures of richness (Chao1 index) and diversity (Shannon and Simpson indices), adjusting for parity, season of delivery, sequencing batch, age, sex, weight and height of the child, and maternal education. Additionally, we performed a differential relative abundance analysis of bacterial families with a correction for sampling fraction bias. Results are expressed as percentage difference for a doubling in black carbon loads with 95% confidence interval (CI).
Two diversity indices were negatively associated with placental black carbon [Shannon: (95% CI: , ); Simpson: (95% CI: , )], cord blood black carbon [Shannon: (95% CI: , ); Simpson: (95% CI: , )], and urinary black carbon [Shannon: (95% CI: , ); Simpson: (95% CI: , )]. The explained variance of black carbon on the above indices varied from 6.1% to 16.6%. No statistically significant associations were found between black carbon load and the Chao1 richness index. After multiple testing correction, placental black carbon was negatively associated with relative abundance of the bacterial families and , and urinary black carbon with and ; associations with cord blood black carbon were not statistically significant after correction.
Black carbon particles quantified in prenatal and postnatal biological matrices were associated with the composition and diversity of the childhood intestinal microbiome. These findings address the influential role of exposure to air pollution during pregnancy and early life in human health. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP11257.
肠道微生物群在人类健康中起着至关重要的作用。尽管空气污染暴露与各种疾病之间存在联系，但在易感生命期间，其与肠道微生物群的关系仍知之甚少。
在这项研究中，我们研究了产前和产后生物基质中量化的黑碳颗粒与细菌丰富度和多样性测量值以及细菌家族之间的关联。
从参加环境影响早期年龄出生队列的 4 至 6 岁儿童中收集了总共 85 份粪便样本。我们进行了 16S rRNA 基因测序，以计算细菌丰富度和多样性指数（Chao1 丰富度、香农多样性和辛普森多样性）以及细菌家族的相对丰度。通过飞秒脉冲激光照射下的白光产生，在胎盘组织和脐带血中量化黑碳颗粒，作为产前暴露生物标志物，并在尿液中用作产后暴露生物标志物。我们使用稳健的多变量调整线性模型来研究量化的黑碳负荷与丰富度（Chao1 指数）和多样性（香农和辛普森指数）测量值之间的关联，调整了产次、分娩季节、测序批次、儿童年龄、性别、体重和身高以及母亲教育。此外，我们对细菌家族的相对丰度进行了差异分析，并对采样分数偏差进行了校正。结果表示为黑碳负荷增加一倍时的百分比差异，置信区间为 95%（CI）。
两个多样性指数与胎盘黑碳呈负相关[香农：（95%CI：，）；辛普森：（95%CI：，）]、脐带血黑碳[香农：（95%CI：，）；辛普森：（95%CI：，）]和尿液黑碳[香农：（95%CI：，）；辛普森：（95%CI：，）]。黑碳对上述指数的解释方差从 6.1%到 16.6%不等。黑碳负荷与 Chao1 丰富度指数之间未发现统计学显著关联。经过多次测试校正后，胎盘黑碳与细菌家族的相对丰度呈负相关，和，尿液黑碳与和；脐带血黑碳的关联在经过校正后没有统计学意义。
在产前和产后生物基质中量化的黑碳颗粒与儿童肠道微生物组的组成和多样性有关。这些发现表明，怀孕期间和生命早期接触空气污染对人类健康有重要影响。https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP11257.
