Institute of Natural Science & Technology, Hanyang University ERICA, 55 Hanyangdaehak-ro, Sangnok-gu, Ansan 15588, Republic of Korea.
Department of Bio-Nanotechnology, Hanyang University, 55 Hanyangdaehak-ro, Sangnok-gu, Ansan 15588, Republic of Korea.
Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Jun 5;25(11):6215. doi: 10.3390/ijms25116215.
In day-to-day living, individuals are exposed to various environmentally hazardous substances that have been associated with diverse diseases. Exposure to air pollutants can occur during breathing, posing a considerable risk to those with environmental health vulnerabilities. Among vulnerable individuals, maternal exposure can negatively impact the mother and child in utero. The developing fetus is particularly vulnerable to environmentally hazardous substances, with potentially greater implications. Among air pollutants, toluene is neurotoxic, and its effects have been widely explored. However, the impact of low-level toluene exposure in daily life remains unclear. Herein, we evaluated 194 mothers and infants from the Growing children's health and Evaluation of Environment (GREEN) cohort to determine the possible effects of early-life toluene exposure on the nervous system. Using Omics experiments, the effects of toluene were confirmed based on epigenetic changes and altered mRNA expression. Various epigenetic changes were identified, with upregulated expression potentially contributing to diseases such as glioblastoma and Alzheimer's, and downregulated expression being associated with structural neuronal abnormalities. These findings were detected in both maternal and infant groups, suggesting that maternal exposure to environmental hazardous substances can negatively impact the fetus. Our findings will facilitate the establishment of environmental health policies, including the management of environmentally hazardous substances for vulnerable groups.
在日常生活中，个体接触到各种环境有害物质，这些物质与多种疾病有关。在呼吸过程中，人们可能会接触到空气污染物，这对环境健康脆弱的人构成了相当大的风险。在脆弱人群中，母体暴露会对子宫内的母亲和孩子产生负面影响。发育中的胎儿特别容易受到环境有害物质的影响，潜在的影响更大。在空气污染物中，甲苯具有神经毒性，其影响已被广泛研究。然而，日常生活中低水平甲苯暴露的影响尚不清楚。在此，我们评估了来自儿童健康与环境评价（GREEN）队列的 194 名母亲和婴儿，以确定早期生活中甲苯暴露对神经系统的可能影响。通过组学实验，基于表观遗传变化和改变的 mRNA 表达，证实了甲苯的作用。确定了各种表观遗传变化，上调表达可能导致脑胶质瘤和阿尔茨海默病等疾病，下调表达与结构神经元异常有关。这些发现都在母亲和婴儿组中都被检测到，这表明母体接触环境有害物质会对胎儿产生负面影响。我们的研究结果将有助于制定环境健康政策，包括对弱势群体环境有害物质的管理。
