Background: During the second and third year after birth the gut microbiota (GM) is subjected to important development. The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure could influence the GM in animal and early postnatal exposure is associated with neurodevelopment disorder in children. This study was designed to explore the possible influence of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on the composition of the gut microbiota (GM) and neurodevelopment in a sample of 38 healthy children at the age of 3 years. Methods: A brief development (Gesell Development Inventory, GDI) and behavior test (Child Behavior Checklist, CBCL) were completed on 3-yr-olds and stool samples were collected for 16S rRNA V4-V5 sequencing. The PAH-DNA adduct in the umbilical cord blood and the urinary hydroxyl PAHs (OH-PAHs) at the age of 12 months were measured as pre- and postnatal PAH exposure, respectively. Results: The most abundant two phyla were Bacteroidetes (68.6%) and Firmicutes (24.2%). The phyla Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Tenericutes, and Lentisphaerae were positively correlated with most domain behaviors of the GDI, whereas the Bacteroidetes, Cyanobacteria, and Fusobacteria were negatively correlated. Correspondingly, the phyla Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, and Fusobacteria showed positive correlations with most CBCL core and broadband syndromes, whereas the Firmicutes, Verrucomicrobia, Synergistetes, Proteobacteria and Tenericules were negatively correlated. The OH-PAH levels were not significantly associated with the Firmicutes phylum whereas the Bacteroidetes, Bacteroidia, and Bacteroidales all showed significant negative association with the OH-PAH levels. Conclusion: The current findings suggest that composition of the GM is associated with neurodevelopment of the child. PAHs seem to change the relative abundance of some taxa (some deleted and some recruited) to counteract the negative effects of the PAHs.

Introduction: The study was designed to explore the possible adverse effects of prenatal polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on the neurodevelopment of the infants at the age of 12 months in a birth cohort in Qingdao of China. Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP)-DNA adduct level in umbilical cord blood was measured by enzyme immunoassay. Methods: Child neurodevelopment was assessed at both 6 months and 12 months of age using the Gesell Development Inventory (GDI). Results: This study results reveal that multivariate linear analysis, cord BaP-DNA adduct level was inversely associated with developmental quotient score in the adaptive domain [β = −0.08; 95% CI: (−0.16, −0.003); p = 0.04], gross motor domain [β = −0.10; 95% CI: (−0.20, −0.01); p = 0.02], fine motor domain [β = −0.15; 95% CI: (−0.25, −0.05); p = 0.01], language domain [β = −0.12; 95% CI: (−0.21, −0.03); p = 0.02], and personal–social domain [β = −0.13; 95% CI: (−0.22, −0.04); p<0.01]. Further, multivariate logistic regression analysis showed increased cord BaP-DNA adduct levels associated with increased odds of delayed in language domain. Conclusion: In conclusion, the study suggested that prenatal PAH exposure monitored by umbilical cord blood BaP-DNA adducts may adversely affect the neurodevelopment of the infants at 12 months of age.

Background. Age‐related hearing impairment (ARHI) is considered an unpreventable disorder. We aimed to detect specific genetic variants that are potentially related to ARHI via genome‐wide association study (GWAS). Methods. A sample of 131 dizygotic twins was genotyped for single‐nucleotide polymorphism‐ (SNP‐) based GWAS. Gene‐based test was performed using VEGAS2. Pathway enrichment analysis was conducted by PASCAL. Results. The twins are with a median age of 49 years, of which 128 were females and 134 were males. rs6633657 was the only SNP that reached the genome‐wide significance level for better ear hearing level (BEHL) at 2.0 kHz (P = 1.19 × 10⁻⁸). Totally, 9, 10, 42, 7, 17, and 5 SNPs were suggestive evidence level for (P < 1 × 10⁻⁵) BEHLs at 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, and 8.0 kHz and pure tone average (PTA), respectively. Several promising genetic regions in chromosomes (near the C20orf196, AQPEP, UBQLN3, OR51B5, OR51I2, OR52D1, GLTP, GIT2, and PARK2) nominally associated with ARHI were identified. Gene‐based analysis revealed 165, 173, 77, 178, 170, and 145 genes nominally associated with BEHLs at 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, and 8.0 kHz and PTA, respectively (P < 0.05). For BEHLs at 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 kHz, the main enriched pathways were phosphatidylinositol signaling system, regulation of ornithine decarboxylase, eukaryotic translation initiation factor (EIF) pathway, amine compound solute carrier (SLC) transporters, synthesis of phosphoinositides (PIPS) at the plasma membrane, and phosphatidylinositols (PI) metabolism. Conclusions. The genetic variations reported herein are significantly involved in functional genes and regulatory domains that mediate ARHI pathogenesis. These findings provide clues for the further unraveling of the molecular physiology of hearing functions and identifying novel diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets of ARHI.

The role of glutathione S-transferase Mu 1 (GSTM1) in the biomonitoring of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is not clear. Our purpose has been to evaluate the influence of GSTM1 genotypes on 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP), deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) adducts, and micronucleus frequency in both...

Toxicogenomics of Bisphenol A and Neurodevelopmental Disorders | InTechOpen, Published on: 2017-06-07. Authors: Bingling Wang, Ruqin Gao and Da‐Hong Wang

Background: It is crucial to comprehend the interplay between air pollution and meteorological conditions in relation to population health within the framework of "dual-carbon" targets. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of intricate environmental factors, encompassing both meteorological conditions and atmospheric pollutants, on respiratory disease (RD) mortality in Qingdao, a representative coastal city in China. Methods: The RD mortality cases were collected from the Chronic Disease Surveillance Monitoring System in Qingdao during Jan 1st, 2014 and Dec 31st, 2020. The distributed-lag nonlinear model and generalized additivity model were used to assess the association between daily mean temperature (DMT), air pollutant exposure and RD mortality. To ascertain the robustness of the model and further investigate this relationship, a stratified analysis and sensitivity analysis were conducted to mitigate potential confounding factors. Results: A total of 19,905 mortalities from RD were recorded. The minimum mortality temperature (MMT) was determined to be 23.5°C, and DMT and RD mortality showed an N-shaped relationship. At the MMT of 23.5°C, the cumulative relative risk (cumRR) for mortality within a lag period of 0–14 days from the highest temperature (31°C) was estimated at 2.114 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.475 ~ 3.028). The effect value of particulate matter (PM) also increased with a longer cumulative lag time. In the single pollutant model, the highest risk of RD mortality was observed on the lag1-day of per 10 μg/m³ increase in PM_2.5 exposure, with an excess risk ratio (ER) of 0.847% (95% CI: 0.335% ~ 1.362%). The largest cumulative effect was found at a lag of 8 days, with an ER of 1.546% (95% CI: 0.483% ~ 2.621%). A similar trend was found for PM₁₀. For O₃ exposure, the highest risk was observed on the lag1-day of per 10 μg/m³ increase, with an ER of 1.073% (95% CI: 0.502% ~ 1.647%), and the largest cumulative effect occurred at a lag of 2 days with an ER of 1.113% (95%CI: 0.386% ~ 1.844%). Results from the dual-pollutants model demonstrated that the effect of PM on the risk of RD mortality remained significant and slightly increased in magnitude. Moreover, composite pollutants exhibited a higher risk effect, reaching its peak after one week; however, there was a decrease in single-day cumulative effects as more pollutant types were included. Subgroup analysis showed that females, elderly individuals, and those exposed during warm seasons demonstrated greater susceptibility to PM exposure. Conclusion: The present study revealed a significant association between short-term exposure to high temperature, PM_2.5, PM₁₀ and O₃ and the risk of RD mortality in Qingdao, even in dual- and composite-pollutants models. Furthermore, our findings indicate that females, the elderly population, and warm seasons exhibit heightened sensitivity to PM exposure.