%0 Journal Article %J J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol %D 2022 %T Chemical exposures assessed via silicone wristbands and endogenous plasma metabolomics during pregnancy. %A Brett T Doherty %A McRitchie, Susan L %A Pathmasiri, Wimal W %A Stewart, Delisha A %A Kirchner, David %A Kim A Anderson %A Gui, Jiang %A Madan, Juliette C %A Hoen, Anne G %A Sumner, Susan J %A Margaret R Karagas %A Megan E Romano %K Cohort Studies %K Female %K Humans %K Metabolome %K Metabolomics %K Pregnancy %K Prospective Studies %K Silicones %X

BACKGROUND: Metabolomics is a promising method to investigate physiological effects of chemical exposures during pregnancy, with the potential to clarify toxicological mechanisms, suggest sensitive endpoints, and identify novel biomarkers of exposures.

OBJECTIVE: Investigate the influence of chemical exposures on the maternal plasma metabolome during pregnancy.

METHODS: Data were obtained from participants (n = 177) in the New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study, a prospective pregnancy cohort. Chemical exposures were assessed via silicone wristbands worn for one week at ~13 gestational weeks. Metabolomic features were assessed in plasma samples obtained at ~24-28 gestational weeks via the Biocrates AbsoluteIDQ® p180 kit and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Associations between chemical exposures and plasma metabolomics were investigated using multivariate modeling.

RESULTS: Chemical exposures predicted 11 (of 226) and 23 (of 125) metabolomic features in Biocrates and NMR, respectively. The joint chemical exposures did not significantly predict pathway enrichment, though some individual chemicals were associated with certain amino acids and related metabolic pathways. For example, N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide was associated with the amino acids glycine, L-glutamic acid, L-asparagine, and L-aspartic acid and enrichment of the ammonia recycling pathway.

SIGNIFICANCE: This study contributes evidence to the potential effects of chemical exposures during pregnancy upon the endogenous maternal plasma metabolome.

%B J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol %V 32 %P 259-267 %8 2022 Mar %G eng %N 2 %R 10.1038/s41370-021-00394-6 %0 Journal Article %J Neurotoxicol Teratol %D 2022 %T Comparing impact of pesticide exposure on cognitive abilities of Latinx children from rural farmworker and urban non-farmworker families in North Carolina. %A Dobbins, Dorothy L %A Haiying Chen %A Milton J. Cepeda %A Berenson, Lesley %A Jennifer W Talton %A Kim A Anderson %A Jonathan H Burdette %A Sara A Quandt %A Thomas A Arcury %A Paul J Laurienti %K Agriculture %K Child %K Child, Preschool %K Cognition %K Environmental Exposure %K Farmers %K Female %K Humans %K North Carolina %K Occupational Exposure %K Pesticides %K Pregnancy %X

Pesticide exposure remains a health hazard despite extensive study into adverse effects. Children in vulnerable populations, such as Latinx children in farmworker families, are particularly at risk for exposure. Several studies have demonstrated the detrimental cognitive effects of prenatal exposure to pesticides, particularly organophosphates (OPs) within this high-risk group. However, results from studies investigating the cognitive effects of early childhood pesticide exposure are equivocal. Most studies examining the effects of pesticide exposure have used correlative analyses rather than examining populations with expected high and low exposure. The current study compares 8-year-old children from rural families of farmworkers and urban, non-farmworker families. We used the Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children - Fifth Edition (WISC-V) to assess cognitive performance in these children. We designed this study with the expectation that children from farmworker families would have greater exposure to agricultural pesticides than urban, non-farmworker children. This assumption of exposure to agricultural pesticides was confirmed in a recent report that assessed exposure probabilities using life history calendars. However, data from passive wristband sampling of acute (1-week) pesticide exposure from these same children indicate that both study populations have considerable pesticide exposure but to different chemicals. As expected the children of farmworkers had greater OP exposure than non-farmworker children, but the non-farmworker children had greater exposure to two other classes of insecticides (organochlorines [OCs] and pyrethroids). Our analyses considered these findings. A comparison of the cognitive scores between groups revealed that children from farmworker families had slightly higher performance on the Visual-Spatial Index (VSI) and Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) when compared to children from non-farmworker families. Regression analyses where pesticide exposure was included as covariates revealed that OC exposure accounted for the largest portion of the group differences for both VSI and VCI. However, a post-hoc moderation analysis did not find significant interactions. The main study outcome was that the non-farmworker children exhibited lower WISC-V scores than the children from farmworker families, and the analyses incorporating pesticide exposure measures raise the hypothesis the that pervasive and persistent nature of a variety of pesticides may have adverse effects on the neurodevelopment of young Latinx children whether living in rural or non-farmworker environments.

%B Neurotoxicol Teratol %V 92 %P 107106 %8 2022 Jul-Aug %G eng %R 10.1016/j.ntt.2022.107106 %0 Journal Article %J Front Public Health %D 2020 %T Assessment of Multipollutant Exposures During Pregnancy Using Silicone Wristbands. %A Brett T Doherty %A Pearce, John L %A Kim A Anderson %A Margaret R Karagas %A Megan E Romano %K Cohort Studies %K Environmental Monitoring %K Female %K Humans %K New Hampshire %K Pregnancy %K Prospective Studies %K Silicones %X

Silicone wristbands can assess multipollutant exposures in a non-invasive and minimally burdensome manner, which may be suitable for use among pregnant women. We investigated silicone wristbands as passive environmental samplers in the New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study, a prospective pregnancy cohort. We used wristbands to assess exposure to a broad range of organic chemicals, identified multipollutant exposure profiles using self-organizing maps (SOMs), and assessed temporal consistency and determinants of exposures during pregnancy. Participants ( = 255) wore wristbands for 1 week at 12 gestational weeks. Of 1,530 chemicals assayed, 199 were detected in at least one wristband and 16 were detected in >60% of wristbands. A median of 23 (range: 12,37) chemicals were detected in each wristband, and chemicals in commerce and personal care products were most frequently detected. A subset of participants (=20) wore a second wristband at 24 gestational weeks, and concentrations of frequently detected chemicals were moderately correlated between time points (median intraclass correlation: 0.22; range: 0.00,0.69). Women with higher educational attainment had fewer chemicals detected in their wristbands and the total number of chemicals detected varied seasonally. Triphenyl phosphate concentrations were positively associated with nail polish use, and benzophenone concentrations were highest in summer. No clear associations were observed with other relations, including certain behaviors, season, and socioeconomic factors. SOM analyses revealed 12 profiles, ranging from 2 to 149 participants, captured multipollutant exposure profiles observed in this cohort. The most common profile ( = 149) indicated that 58% of participants experienced relatively low exposures to frequently detected chemicals. Less common ( ≥ 10) and rare ( < 10) profiles were characterized by low to moderate exposures to most chemicals and very high and/or very low exposure to a subset of chemicals. Certain covariates varied across SOM profile membership; for example, relative to women in the most common profile who had low exposures to most chemicals, women in the profile with elevated exposure to galaxolide and benzyl benzoate were younger, more likely to be single, and more likely to report nail polish use. Our study illustrates the utility of silicone wristbands for measurement of multipollutant exposures in sensitive populations, including pregnant women.

%B Front Public Health %V 8 %P 547239 %8 2020 %G eng %R 10.3389/fpubh.2020.547239 %0 Journal Article %J Sci Total Environ %D 2020 %T Environmental surveillance and adverse neonatal health outcomes in foals born near unconventional natural gas development activity. %A Kathleen Mullen %A Briana N Rivera %A Lane G Tidwell %A Renata Ivanek %A Kim A Anderson %A Dorothy Ainsworth %K Animals %K Animals, Newborn %K Environmental Monitoring %K Female %K Horses %K Humans %K Infant, Newborn %K Male %K Natural Gas %K New York %K Outcome Assessment, Health Care %K Pennsylvania %K Pregnancy %X

Studies of neonatal health risks of unconventional natural gas development (UNGD) have not included comprehensive assessments of environmental chemical exposures. We investigated a clustering of dysphagic cases in neonatal foals born between 2014 and 2016 in an area of active UNGD in Pennsylvania (PA),USA. We evaluated equine biological data and environmental exposures on the affected PA farm and an unaffected New York (NY) farm owned by the same proprietor. Dams either spent their entire gestation on one farm or moved to the other farm in late gestation. Over the 21-month study period, physical examinations and blood/tissue samples were obtained from mares and foals on each farm. Grab samples of water, pasture soil and feed were collected; continuous passive sampling of air and water for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons was performed. Dysphagia was evaluated as a binary variable; logistic regression was used to identify risk factors. Sixty-five foals were born, 17 (all from PA farm) were dysphagic. Odds of dysphagia increased with the dam residing on the PA farm for each additional month of gestation (OR = 1.4, 95% CI 1.2, 1.7, p = 6.0E-04). Males were more likely to be born dysphagic (OR = 5.5, 95% CI 1.2, 24.5, p = 0.03) than females. Prior to installation of a water filtration/treatment system, PA water concentrations of 3,6-dimethylphenanthrene (p = 6.0E-03), fluoranthene (p = 0.03), pyrene (p = 0.02) and triphenylene (p = 0.01) exceeded those in NY water. Compared to NY farm water, no concentrations of PAHs were higher in PA following installation of the water filtration/treatment system. We provide evidence of an uncommon adverse health outcome (dysphagia) in foals born near UNGD that was eliminated in subsequent years (2017-2019) following environmental management changes. Notably, this study demonstrates that domestic large animals such as horses can serve as important sentinels for human health risks associated with UNGD activities.

%B Sci Total Environ %V 731 %P 138497 %8 2020 Aug 20 %G eng %R 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138497 %0 Journal Article %J Environ Health Perspect %D 2009 %T Developmental exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls interferes with experience-dependent dendritic plasticity and ryanodine receptor expression in weanling rats. %A Yang, Dongren %A Kim, Kyung Ho %A Phimister, Andrew %A Bachstetter, Adam D %A Ward, Thomas R %A Stackman, Robert W %A Mervis, Ronald F %A Wisniewski, Amy B %A Klein, Sabra L %A Kodavanti, Prasada Rao S %A Kim A Anderson %A Wayman, Gary %A Pessah, Isaac N %A Lein, Pamela J %K Animals %K Animals, Newborn %K Body Weight %K Chlorodiphenyl (54% Chlorine) %K Dendrites %K Female %K Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental %K Green Fluorescent Proteins %K Litter Size %K Maze Learning %K Memory %K Microtubule-Associated Proteins %K Neuronal Plasticity %K Pregnancy %K Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects %K Rats %K Rats, Sprague-Dawley %K Ryanodine Receptor Calcium Release Channel %K Sex Ratio %X

BACKGROUND: Neurodevelopmental disorders are associated with altered patterns of neuronal connectivity. A critical determinant of neuronal connectivity is the dendritic morphology of individual neurons, which is shaped by experience. The identification of environmental exposures that interfere with dendritic growth and plasticity may, therefore, provide insight into environmental risk factors for neurodevelopmental disorders.

OBJECTIVE: We tested the hypothesis that polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) alter dendritic growth and/or plasticity by promoting the activity of ryanodine receptors (RyRs).

METHODS AND RESULTS: The Morris water maze was used to induce experience-dependent neural plasticity in weanling rats exposed to either vehicle or Aroclor 1254 (A1254) in the maternal diet throughout gestation and lactation. Developmental A1254 exposure promoted dendritic growth in cerebellar Purkinje cells and neocortical pyramidal neurons among untrained animals but attenuated or reversed experience-dependent dendritic growth among maze-trained littermates. These structural changes coincided with subtle deficits in spatial learning and memory, increased [3H]-ryanodine binding sites and RyR expression in the cerebellum of untrained animals, and inhibition of training-induced RyR upregulation. A congener with potent RyR activity, PCB95, but not a congener with negligible RyR activity, PCB66, promoted dendritic growth in primary cortical neuron cultures and this effect was blocked by pharmacologic antagonism of RyR activity.

CONCLUSIONS: Developmental exposure to PCBs interferes with normal patterns of dendritic growth and plasticity, and these effects may be linked to changes in RyR expression and function. These findings identify PCBs as candidate environmental risk factors for neurodevelopmental disorders, especially in children with heritable deficits in calcium signaling.

%B Environ Health Perspect %V 117 %P 426-35 %8 03/2009 %G eng %N 3 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19337518?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1289/ehp.11771