Organophosphate ester flame retardant chemicals and maternal depression during pregnancy.

BACKGROUND: Depression substantially contributes to pregnancy-related morbidity, and pregnancy is increasingly recognized as a vulnerable window for exposure effects on maternal mental health. Exposures to organophosphate esters (OPEs) are ubiquitous and may have neurotoxic effects; however, their impacts on prenatal depression remain unknown. We evaluated associations of third trimester OPE metabolites on maternal depressive symptoms during pregnancy. METHODS: This study included 422 participants in the Maternal and Developmental Risks from Environmental and Social Stressors (MADRES) cohort, a prospective pregnancy cohort of primarily low-income and Hispanic participants residing in Los Angeles, California. We measured concentrations of nine OPEs in third trimester spot urine samples (mean gestational age = 31.5 ± 2.0 weeks). Using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale, we classified participants as having probable depression during pregnancy (N = 137) or not (N = 285) if one or more CES-D scores administered at each trimester met the suggested cutoff score for clinically significant depressive symptoms (≥16). We estimated associations of prenatal OPE metabolite concentrations in tertiles and risk of prenatal depression using modified Log-Poisson regression. We examined associations of the OPE mixture on depression during pregnancy using Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR). RESULTS: Participants with the highest tertiles of DPHP and BDCIPP exposure had a 67% (95% CI: 22%, 128%) and 47% (95% CI: 4%, 108%) increased risk of maternal depressive symptoms during pregnancy, respectively. No associations between other OPE metabolites and maternal depression symptoms were observed. In mixture analyses, we observed a positive and linear association between higher exposure to the OPE metabolite mixture and odds of prenatal maternal depression, primarily driven by DPHP. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide new evidence of associations between frequently detected OPE metabolites on maternal depression symptoms during pregnancy. Results could inform future intervention efforts aimed at reducing perinatal maternal depression.

Prenatal polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposure and asthma at age 8-9 years in a multi-site longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Studies suggest prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) may influence wheezing or asthma in preschool-aged children. However, the impact of prenatal PAH exposure on asthma and wheeze in middle childhood remain unclear. We investigated these associations in socio-demographically diverse participants from the ECHO PATHWAYS multi-cohort consortium. METHODS: We included 1,081 birth parent-child dyads across five U.S. cities. Maternal urinary mono-hydroxylated PAH metabolite concentrations (OH-PAH) were measured during mid-pregnancy. Asthma at age 8-9 years and wheezing trajectory across childhood were characterized by caregiver reported asthma diagnosis and asthma/wheeze symptoms. We used logistic and multinomial regression to estimate odds ratios of asthma and childhood wheezing trajectories associated with five individual OH-PAHs, adjusting for urine specific gravity, various maternal and child characteristics, study site, prenatal and postnatal smoke exposure, and birth year and season in single metabolite and mutually adjusted models. We used multiplicative interaction terms to evaluate effect modification by child sex and explored OH-PAH mixture effects through Weighted Quantile Sum regression. RESULTS: The prevalence of asthma in the study population was 10%. We found limited evidence of adverse associations between pregnancy OH-PAH concentrations and asthma or wheezing trajectories. We observed adverse associations between 1/9-hydroxyphenanthrene and asthma and persistent wheeze among girls, and evidence of inverse associations with asthma for 1-hydroxynathpthalene, which was stronger among boys, though tests for effect modification by child sex were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: In a large, multi-site cohort, we did not find strong evidence of an association between prenatal exposure to PAHs and child asthma at age 8-9 years, though some adverse associations were observed among girls.

Synthesis of a photocleavable bola-phosphatidylcholine.

Phosphatidylinositol transfer proteins (PITPs) are ubiquitous in eukaryotes and are involved in the regulation of phospholipid metabolism, membrane trafficking, and signal transduction. Sec14 is a yeast PITP that has been shown to transfer phosphatidylinositol (PI) or phosphatidylcholine (PC) from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi. It is now believed that Sec14 may play a greater role than just shuttling PI and PC throughout the cell. Genetic evidence suggests that retrieval of membrane-bound PI by Sec14 also manages to present PI to the phosphatidylinositol-4-kinase, Pik1, to generate phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate, PI(4)P. To test this hypothetical model, we designed a photocleavable bolalipid to span the entire membrane, having one phosphatidylcholine or phosphatidylinositol headgroup on each leaflet connected by a photocleavable diacid. Sec14 should not be able to present the bola-PI to Pik1 for phosphorylation as the head group will be difficult to lift from the bilayer as it is tethered on the opposite leaflet. After photocleavage the two halves would behave as a normal phospholipid, thus phosphorylation by Pik1 would resume. We report here the synthesis of a photocleavable bola-PC, a precursor to the desired bola-PI. The mono-photocleavable bola-PC lipid was designed to contain two glycerol molecules with choline head groups connected through a phosphodiester bond at the sn3 position. Each glycerol was acylated with palmitic acid at the sn1 position. These two glycerol moieties were then connected through their respective sn2 hydroxyls via a photocleavable dicarboxylic acid containing a nitrophenyl ethyl photolabile protecting group. The bola-PC and its precursors were found to undergo efficient photocleavage when irradiated in solution or in vesicles with 365 nm light for two minutes. Treatment of the bola-PC with a mutant phospholipase D and myo-inositol produced a mono-inositol bola-PC-PI.

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and lead (Pb) as "cardiovascular disruptors" in 9-11-year-old children living in Syracuse, New York, United States.

OBJECTIVE: Per- and polyfluoro-alkyl substances (PFAS) and lead (Pb) are ubiquitous environmental toxicants with apparent impact on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. As one possible mechanism for this increased risk, we have previously demonstrated an association between Pb exposure and heightened cardiovascular reactivity to acute psychological stress, a CVD risk factor. The present study expands this approach and considers both PFAS and Pb exposures (and the possible interaction). METHODS: We assessed 14 serum PFAS and whole blood Pb concentrations in a sample of 9-11 year-old children (N = 291; 43.2% White, 56.8% Black; 53.5% female). We measured cardiovascular functioning at rest and during psychological stress as well as multiple indicators of subclinical CVD including resting blood pressure (BP), carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV), carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), and left ventricular mass (LVM). Data analysis included general linear modeling as well as a non-parametric approach to study metal mixtures, specifically Bayesian Kernel Machine Regression (BKMR). RESULTS: Significant interactions between different PFAS and with Pb suggest the importance of considering toxicant mixtures when assessing potential disruption of the cardiovascular system. The pattern of findings suggests that greater "vascular reactivity" (elevated BP and vascular resistance during acute psychological stress) was associated with higher concentrations of perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), and Pb, but only when perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was concurrently elevated. With respect to subclinical outcomes, increasing perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) was associated with greater cIMT (ß = 0.21, p = 0.010). CONCLUSION: To our knowledge this is the first study to consider how PFAS exposures might affect cardiovascular functioning and subclinical disease. Although a complex pattern of associations emerged, it does appear that PFAS and Pb can be classified as "cardiovascular disruptors" in children. Further research is needed to replicate these novel findings and determine whether these disruptions produce future cardiovascular disease.

Sex-specific effects of prenatal organophosphate ester (OPE) metabolite mixtures and adverse infant birth outcomes in the maternal and developmental risks from environmental and social stressors (MADRES) pregnancy cohort.

BACKGROUND: Organophosphate esters (OPEs) are used as flame retardants and plasticizers in various consumer products. Limited prior research suggests sex-specific effects of prenatal OPE exposures on fetal development. We evaluated overall and sex-specific associations between prenatal OPE exposures and gestational age (GA) at birth and birthweight for gestational age (BW for GA) z-scores among the predominately low-income, Hispanic MADRES cohort. METHODS: Nine OPE metabolite concentrations were measured in 421 maternal urine samples collected during a third trimester visit (GA = 31.5 ± 2.0 weeks). We examined associations between single urinary OPE metabolites and GA at birth and BW for GA z-scores using linear regression models and Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) and effects from OPE mixtures using Bayesian Kernel Machine Regression (BKMR). We also assessed sex-specific differences in single metabolite analyses by evaluating statistical interactions and stratifying by sex. RESULTS: We did not find significant associations between individual OPE metabolites and birth outcomes in the full infant sample; however, we found that higher bis(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (BDCIPP) was associated with earlier GA at birth among male infants (p = 0.04), and a nonlinear, inverted U-shape association between the sum of dibutyl phosphate and di-isobutyl phosphate (DNBP + DIBP) and GA at birth among female infants (p = 0.03). In mixtures analysis, higher OPE metabolite mixture exposures was associated with lower GA at birth, which was primarily driven by female infants. No associations were observed between OPE mixtures and BW for GA z-scores. CONCLUSION: Higher BDCIPP and DNBP + DIBP concentrations were associated with earlier GA at birth among male and female infants, respectively. Higher exposure to OPE mixtures was associated with earlier GA at birth, particularly among female infants. However, we saw no associations between prenatal OPEs and BW for GA. Our results suggest sex-specific impacts of prenatal OPE exposures on GA at birth.

Prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons is not associated with behavior problems in preschool and early school-aged children: A prospective multi-cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological study findings are inconsistent regarding associations between prenatal polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposures and childhood behavior. This study examined associations of prenatal PAH exposure with behavior at age 4-6 years in a large, diverse, multi-region prospective cohort. Secondary aims included examination of PAH mixtures and effect modification by child sex, breastfeeding, and child neighborhood opportunity. METHODS: The ECHO PATHWAYS Consortium pooled 1118 mother-child dyads from three prospective pregnancy cohorts in six U.S. cities. Seven PAH metabolites were measured in prenatal urine. Child behavior was assessed at age 4-6 using the Total Problems score from the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Neighborhood opportunity was assessed using the socioeconomic and educational scales of the Child Opportunity Index. Multivariable linear regression was used to estimate associations per 2-fold increase in each PAH metabolite, adjusted for demographic, prenatal, and maternal factors and using interaction terms for effect modifiers. Associations with PAH mixtures were estimated using Weighted Quantile Sum Regression (WQSR). RESULTS: The sample was racially and sociodemographically diverse (38% Black, 49% White, 7% Other; household-adjusted income range $2651-$221,102). In fully adjusted models, each 2-fold increase in 2-hydroxynaphthalene was associated with a lower Total Problems score, contrary to hypotheses (b = -0.80, 95% CI = -1.51, -0.08). Associations were notable in boys (b = -1.10, 95% CI = -2.11, -0.08) and among children breastfed 6+ months (b = -1.31, 95% CI = -2.25, -0.37), although there was no statistically significant evidence for interaction by child sex, breastfeeding, or neighborhood child opportunity. Associations were null for other PAH metabolites; there was no evidence of associations with PAH mixtures from WQSR. CONCLUSION: In this large, well-characterized, prospective study of mother-child pairs, prenatal PAH exposure was not associated with child behavior problems. Future studies characterizing the magnitude of prenatal PAH exposure and studies in older childhood are needed.

Prenatal exposures to organophosphate ester metabolite mixtures and children's neurobehavioral outcomes in the MADRES pregnancy cohort.

BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests organophosphate esters (OPEs) are neurotoxic; however, the epidemiological literature remains scarce. We investigated whether prenatal exposures to OPEs were associated with child neurobehavior in the MADRES cohort. METHODS: We measured nine OPE metabolites in 204 maternal urine samples (gestational age at collection: 31.4 ± 1.8 weeks). Neurobehavior problems were assessed among 36-month-old children using the Child Behavior Checklist's (CBCL) three composite scales [internalizing, externalizing, and total problems]. We examined associations between tertiles of prenatal OPE metabolites (> 50% detection) and detect/non-detect categories (< 50% detection) and CBCL composite scales using linear regression and generalized additive models. We also examined mixtures for widely detected OPEs (n = 5) using Bayesian kernel machine regression. RESULTS: Maternal participants with detectable versus non-detectable levels of bis(2-methylphenyl) phosphate (BMPP) had children with 42% (95% CI: 4%, 96%) higher externalizing, 45% (-2%, 114%) higher internalizing, and 35% (3%, 78%) higher total problems. Participants in the second versus first tertile of bis(butoxethyl) phosphate (BBOEP) had children with 43% (-1%, 109%) higher externalizing scores. Bis(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (BCIPP) and child sex had a statistically significant interaction in internalizing (p = 0.02) and total problems (p = 0.03) models, with 120% (23%, 295%) and 57% (6%, 134%) higher scores in the third versus first BCIPP tertile among males. Among females, detectable vs non-detectable levels of prenatal BMPP were associated with 69% higher externalizing scores (5%, 170%) while the third versus first tertile of prenatal BBOEP was associated with 45% lower total problems (-68%, -6%). Although the metabolite mixture and each CBCL outcome had null associations, we observed marginal associations between di-n-butyl phosphate and di-isobutyl phosphate (DNBP + DIBP) and higher internalizing scores (0.15; 95% CrI: -0.02, 0.32), holding other metabolites at their median. CONCLUSIONS: Our results generally suggest adverse and sex-specific effects of prenatal exposure to previously understudied OPEs on neurobehavioral outcomes in 36-month children, providing evidence of potential OPE neurotoxicity.

PFAS concentrations in early and mid-pregnancy and risk of gestational diabetes mellitus in a nested case-control study within the ethnically and racially diverse PETALS cohort.

BACKGROUND: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are persistent synthetic chemicals and are commonly found in everyday items. PFAS have been linked to disrupting glucose homeostasis, however, whether they are associated with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) risk remains inconclusive. We examined prospective associations of PFAS concentrations measured twice in pregnancy with GDM risk. METHODS: In the PETALS pregnancy cohort, a nested case-control study which included 41 GDM cases and 87 controls was conducted. PFAS analytes were measured in blood serum collected in both early and mid-pregnancy (mean [SD]: 13.9 [2.2] and 20.2 [2.2] gestational weeks, respectively), with cumulative exposure calculated by the area-under-the-curve (AUC) to integrate both the PFAS concentration and the timing of the exposure. Individual adjusted weighted unconditional logistic regression models examined seven PFAS in association with GDM risk. P-values were corrected using the false-discovery-rate (FDR). Mixture models were analyzed with Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR). RESULTS: PFDA, PFNA and PFOA were individually associated with higher GDM risk per interquartile range (IQR) in early pregnancy (OR [95% CI]: 1.23 [1.09, 1.38]), 1.40 [1.24, 1.58]), and 1.15 [1.04, 1.27], respectively), mid-pregnancy (1.28 [1.15, 1.43], 1.16 [1.05, 1.28], and 1.20 [1.09, 1.33], respectively), and with cumulative exposure (1.23 [1.09, 1.38], 1.21 [1.07, 1.37], and 1.19 [1.09, 1.31], respectively). PFOS in mid-pregnancy and with cumulative exposure was associated with increased GDM risk (1.41 [1.17, 1.71] and 1.33 [1.06, 1.58], respectively). PFUnDA in early pregnancy was associated with lower GDM risk (0.79 [0.64, 0.98]), whereas mid-pregnancy levels were associated with higher risk (1.49 [1.18, 1.89]). PFHxS was associated with decreased GDM risk in early and mid-pregnancy (0.48 [0.38, 0.60] and 0.48 [0.37, 0.63], respectively) and with cumulative exposure (0.49 [0.38,0.63]). PFPeA was not associated with GDM. Similar conclusions were observed in BKMR models; however, overall associations in these models were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Higher risk of GDM was consistently observed in association with PFDA, PFNA, and PFOA exposure in both early and mid-pregnancy. Results should be corroborated in larger population-based cohorts and individuals of reproductive age should potentially avoid known sources of PFAS.

Vascular endothelium as a target for perfluroalkyl substances (PFAs).

INTRODUCTION: Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAs) are ubiquitous, anthropogenic organic compounds that have been linked with cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular risk factors. Older, long-chain PFAs have been phased out due to adverse cardiometabolic health effect and replaced by newer short-chain PFAs. However, emerging research suggests that short-chain PFAs may also have adverse cardiovascular effects. Non-invasive measures of vascular function can detect preclinical cardiovascular disease and serve as a useful surrogate for early CVD risk. We hypothesized that serum concentrations of PFAs would be associated with noninvasive measures of vascular function, carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) and brachial artery reactivity testing (BART), in adults with non-occupational exposure to PFAs. METHODS: We measured serum concentrations of 14 PFAs with hybrid solid-phase extraction and ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry in 94 adult outpatients with no known cardiovascular disease. We collected clinical and demographic data; and measured vascular function, PWV and BART, using standard protocols. We assessed associations of individual PFAs with log-transformed BART and PWV using linear regression. We used weighted quantile sum regression to assess effects of correlated PFA mixtures on BART and PWV. RESULTS: Ten PFAs were measured above the limit of detection in >50% of participants. Each standard deviation increase in concentration of perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA) was associated with 15% decrease in BART (95% CI: -28.5, -0.17). The weighted index of a mixture of PFAs with correlated concentrations was inversely associated with BART: each tertile increase in the weighted PFA mixture was associated with 25% lower BART, with 73% of the effect driven by PFHpA. In contrast, no PFAs or mixtures were associated with PWV. CONCLUSIONS: Serum concentration of PFHpA, a new, short-chain PFA, was associated with impaired vascular function among outpatients without CVD. Our findings support a potential adverse cardiovascular effect of newer, short-chain PFAs.

Pseudopeptide Amyloid Aggregation Inhibitors: In Silico, Single Molecule and Cell Viability Studies.

Neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is defined by pathology featuring amyloid-ß (Aß) deposition in the brain. Aß monomers themselves are generally considered to be nontoxic, but misfold into ß-sheets and aggregate to form neurotoxic oligomers. One suggested strategy to treat AD is to prevent the formation of toxic oligomers. The SG inhibitors are a class of pseudopeptides designed and optimized using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations for affinity to Aß and experimentally validated for their ability to inhibit amyloid-amyloid binding using single molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS). In this work, we provide a review of our previous MD and SMFS studies of these inhibitors and present new cell viability studies that demonstrate their neuroprotective effects against Aß(1-42) oligomers using mouse hippocampal-derived HT22 cells. Two of the tested SG inhibitors, predicted to bind Aß in anti-parallel orientation, demonstrated neuroprotection against Aß(1-42). A third inhibitor, predicted to bind parallel to Aß, was not neuroprotective. Myristoylation of SG inhibitors, intended to enhance delivery across the blood-brain barrier (BBB), resulted in cytotoxicity. This is the first use of HT22 cells for the study of peptide aggregation inhibitors. Overall, this work will inform the future development of peptide aggregation inhibitors against Aß toxicity.

Melatonin Alters Fluid Phase Coexistence in POPC/DPPC/Cholesterol Membranes.

The structure and biophysical properties of lipid membranes are important for cellular functions in health and disease. In Alzheimer's disease, the neuronal membrane is a target for toxic amyloid-ß (Aß). Melatonin is an important pineal gland hormone that has been shown to protect against Aß toxicity in cellular and animal studies, but the molecular mechanism of this protection is not fully understood. Melatonin is a small membrane-active molecule that has been shown to interact with model lipid membranes and alter the membrane biophysical properties, such as membrane molecular order and dynamics. This effect of melatonin has been previously studied in simple model bilayers with one or two lipid components. To make it more relevant to neuronal membranes, we used a more complex ternary lipid mixture as our membrane model. In this study, we used 2H-NMR to investigate the effect of melatonin on the phase behavior of 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC), 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC), and cholesterol lipid membranes. We used deuterium-labeled POPC-d31 and DPPC-d62,separately to probe the changes in hydrocarbon chain order as a function of temperature and melatonin concentration. We find that POPC/DPPC/cholesterol at molar proportions of 3:3:2 is close to liquid-disordered/liquid-ordered phase separation and that melatonin can induce phase separation in these ternary mixtures by preferentially incorporating into the disordered phase and increasing its level of disorder. At 5 mol% melatonin, we observed phase separation in samples with POPC-d31, but not with DPPC-d62, whereas at 10 mol% melatonin, phase separation was observed in both samples with either POPC-d31 or DPPC-d62. These results indicate that melatonin can have a strong effect on membrane structure and physical properties, which may provide some clues to understanding how melatonin protects against Aß, and that choice of chain perdeuteration is an important consideration from a technical point of view.

Assessing thermal adaptation using family-based association and FST outlier tests in a threatened trout species.

Discovering genetic markers associated with phenotypic or ecological characteristics can improve our understanding of adaptation and guide conservation of key evolutionary traits. The Lahontan cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii henshawi) of the northern Great Basin Desert, USA, demonstrated exceptional tolerance to high temperatures in the desert lakes where it resided historically. This trait is central to a conservation hatchery effort to protect the genetic legacy of the nearly extinct lake ecotype. We genotyped full-sibling families from this conservation broodstock and samples from the only two remaining, thermally distinct, native lake populations at 4,644 new single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Family-based genome-wide association testing of the broodstock identified nine and 26 SNPs associated with thermal tolerance (p < 0.05 and p < 0.1), measured in a previous thermal challenge experiment. Genes near the associated SNPs had complex functions related to immunity, growth, metabolism and ion homeostasis. Principal component analysis using the thermotolerance-related SNPs showed unexpected divergence between the conservation broodstock and the native lake populations at these loci. FST outlier tests on the native lake populations identified 18 loci shared between two or more of the tests, with two SNPs identified by all three tests (p < 0.01); none overlapped with loci identified by association testing in the broodstock. A recent history of isolation and the complex genetic and demographic backgrounds of Lahontan cutthroat trout probably limited our ability to find shared thermal tolerance loci. Our study extends the still relatively rare application of genomic tools testing for markers associated with important phenotypic or environmental characteristics in species of conservation concern.

Urinary levels of triclosan and triclocarban in several Asian countries, Greece and the USA: Association with oxidative stress.

Triclosan (TCS) and Triclocarban (TCC) are widely used as antimicrobial preservatives in personal care products (PCPs). Because of their potential for endocrine disrupting effects, human exposure to these chemicals is a concern. Biomonitoring studies of human exposure to TCS and TCC have shown widespread exposure of populations in western European countries and the USA. However, exposure to TCC and TCS by populations in Asian countries is less well known. In this study, concentrations of TCS and TCC were determined in human urine collected from seven Asian countries (China, India, Korea, Kuwait, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam), and Greece and the USA. A total of 430 urine samples were analyzed for TCS and TCC, of which 355 (83%) and 82 (19%), respectively, contained measurable levels of these chemicals. The overall geometric mean [GM] concentrations of TCS and TCC, were 1.36 and 0.03ng/mL, respectively. The highest mean concentration of TCS was found in urine from China (100ng/mL) and the lowest concentration was found in urine from Vietnam (2.34ng/mL). We also analyzed urinary 8-OHdG, a marker of oxidative stress, to elucidate the association with TCS and TCC levels for samples from Saudi Arabia (n=130) and a positive correlation between Ln-transformed TCC levels and 8-OHdG was found, although this was not statistically significant. This is the first study to report urinary levels of TCS and TCC in several Asian countries, especially for Vietnam, Kuwait, and Japan.

A Prospective Analysis of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances from Early Pregnancy to Delivery in the Atlanta African American Maternal-Child Cohort.

BACKGROUND: Longitudinal trends in per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) serum concentrations across pregnancy have not been thoroughly examined, despite evidence linking prenatal PFAS exposures with adverse birth outcomes. OBJECTIVES: We sought to characterize longitudinal PFAS concentrations across pregnancy and to examine the maternal-fetal transfer ratio among participants in a study of risk and protective factors for adverse birth outcomes among African Americans. METHODS: In the Atlanta African American Maternal-Child cohort (2014-2020), we quantified serum concentrations of four PFAS in 376 participants and an additional eight PFAS in a subset of 301 participants during early (8-14 weeks gestation) and late pregnancy (24-30 weeks gestation). Among these, PFAS concentrations were also measured among 199 newborns with available dried blood spot (DBS) samples. We characterized the patterns, variability, and associations in PFAS concentrations at different time points across pregnancy using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), maternal-newborn pairs transfer ratios, linear mixed effect models, and multivariable linear regression, adjusting for socioeconomic and prenatal predictors. RESULTS: Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) were detected in >95% of maternal samples, with PFHxS and PFOS having the highest median concentrations. We observed high variability in PFAS concentrations across pregnancy time points (ICC=0.03-0.59). All median PFAS concentrations increased from early to late pregnancy, except for PFOA and N-methyl perfluorooctane sulfonamido acetic acid (NMFOSAA), which decreased [paired t-test for all PFAS p<0.05 except for PFOA and perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS)]. Prenatal serum PFAS were weakly to moderately correlated with newborn DBS PFAS (-0.05

Prenatal exposures to organophosphate ester metabolites and early motor development in the MADRES cohort.

Organophosphate esters (OPEs) are increasingly considered neurotoxicants which may impact gross and fine motor development. We evaluated associations between prenatal OPE exposures and infant motor development. Third trimester urinary concentrations of nine OPE metabolites were measured in 329 mother-infant dyads participating in the Maternal And Developmental Risks from Environmental and Social Stressors (MADRES) cohort. Child gross and fine motor development at 6, 9, 12, and 18-months were assessed with the Ages and Stages Questionnaire-3 (ASQ-3) and operationalized in models using dichotomous instrument-specific cutoffs for typical motor development. Five OPE metabolites with >60% detection were specific-gravity-adjusted, natural log-transformed, and modeled continuously, while four metabolites with <60% detection were modeled dichotomously (detected/not-detected). We fit mixed effects logistic regression between OPE metabolites and fine/gross motor development and assessed sex-specific effects using a statistical interaction term and sex-stratified models. Among children, 31% and 23% had gross and fine motor scores, respectively, below the ASQ-3 at-risk cutoffs at least once across infancy. A doubling in prenatal diphenyl phosphate (DPHP) exposure was associated with 26% increased odds of potential fine motor delays (ORfine = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.57, p = 0.04). We also observed significant interactions by infant sex for associations of detected dipropyl phosphate (DPRP) with gross motor development (pinteraction = 0.048) and detected bis(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (BCIPP) with fine motor development (pinteraction = 0.02). Females had greater odds of potential motor delays for both detected DPRP (females vs males ORgross (95% CI) = 1.48 (0.71, 3.09), p = 0.30 vs 0.27 (0.06, 1.29), p = 0.10) and detected BCIPP (females vs males ORfine (95% CI) = 2.72 (1.27, 5.85), p = 0.01 vs 0.76 (0.31, 1.90), p = 0.56). There were no other significant associations between other metabolites and motor development, despite similar patterns. We found evidence of adverse effects of prenatal OPE exposures on infant motor development with greater adverse effects among female infants with some OPE metabolites.

Urinary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) metabolite concentrations in three pregnancy cohorts from 7 U.S. study sites.

OBJECTIVE: Prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is associated with adverse birth and developmental outcomes in children. We aimed to describe prenatal PAH exposures in a large, multisite U.S. consortium. METHODS: We measured 12 mono-hydroxylated metabolites (OH-PAHs) of 7 PAHs (naphthalene, fluorene, phenanthrene, pyrene, benzo(c)phenanthrene, chrysene, benz(a)anthracene) in mid-pregnancy urine of 1,892 pregnant individuals from the ECHO PATHWAYS consortium cohorts: CANDLE (n = 988; Memphis), TIDES (n = 664; Minneapolis, Rochester, San Francisco, Seattle) and GAPPS (n = 240; Seattle and Yakima, WA). We described concentrations of 8 OH-PAHs of non-smoking participants (n = 1,695) by site, socioeconomic characteristics, and pregnancy stage (we report intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) for n = 677 TIDES participants). RESULTS: Exposure to the selected PAHs was ubiquitous at all sites. 2-hydroxynaphthalene had the highest average concentrations at all sites. CANDLE had the highest average concentrations of most metabolites. Among non-smoking participants, we observed some patterns by income, education, and race but these were not consistent and varied by site and metabolite. ICCs of repeated OH-PAH measures from TIDES participants were ≤ 0.51. CONCLUSION: In this geographically-diverse descriptive analysis of U.S. pregnancies, we observed ubiquitous exposure to low molecular weight PAHs, highlighting the importance of better understanding PAH sources and their pediatric health outcomes attributed to early life PAH exposure.

The Interplay Between Cholesterol and Amyloid-ß on HT22 Cell Viability, Morphology, and Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Signaling.

BACKGROUND: There is a lack of understanding in the molecular and cellular mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease that has hindered progress on therapeutic development. The focus has been on targeting toxic amyloid-ß (Aß) pathology, but these therapeutics have generally failed in clinical trials. Aß is an aggregation-prone protein that has been shown to disrupt cell membrane structure in molecular biophysics studies and interfere with membrane receptor signaling in cell and animal studies. Whether the lipid membrane or specific receptors are the primary target of attack has not been determined. OBJECTIVE: This work elucidates some of the interplay between membrane cholesterol and Aß42 on HT22 neuronal cell viability, morphology, and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) signaling pathways. METHODS: The effects of cholesterol depletion by methyl-ß-cyclodextrin followed by treatment with Aß and/or PDGF-AA were assessed by MTT cell viability assays, western blot, optical and AFM microscopy. RESULTS: Cell viability studies show that cholesterol depletion was mildly protective against Aß toxicity. Together cholesterol reduction and Aß42 treatment compounded the disruption of the PDGFα receptor activation. Phase contrast optical microscopy and live cell atomic force microscopy imaging revealed that cytotoxic levels of Aß42 caused morphological changes including cell membrane damage, cytoskeletal disruption, and impaired cell adhesion; cell damage was ameliorated by cellular cholesterol depletion. CONCLUSIONS: Cholesterol depletion impacted the effects of Aß42 on HT22 cell viability, morphology, and receptor tyrosine kinase signaling.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and psychosocial stressors have a joint effect on adverse pregnancy outcomes in the Atlanta African American Maternal-Child cohort.

BACKGROUND: African Americans (AAs) experience high rates of adverse pregnancy outcomes relative to Whites. Differential in utero exposure to environmental chemicals and psychosocial stressors may explain some of the observed health disparities, as exposures to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and experiences of discrimination have been linked to adverse birth outcomes. Few studies have examined chemicals and non-chemical stressors together as an exposure mixture, which may better reflect real-life exposure patterns. Here, we adapted methods designed for the analysis of exposure mixtures to examine joint effects of PFAS and psychosocial stress on birth outcomes among AAs. METHODS: 348 participants from the Atlanta African American Maternal-Child cohort were included in this study. Four PFAS were measured in first trimester serum samples. Self-report questionnaires were administered during the first trimester and were used to assess psychosocial stress (perceived stress, depression, anxiety, gendered racial stress). Quantile g-computation and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) were used to estimate the joint effects between PFAS and psychosocial stressors on gestational age at delivery and birthweight for gestational age z-scores. All models were adjusted for maternal education, maternal age, parity, and any alcohol, tobacco and marijuana use. RESULTS: Our analytic sample included a socioeconomically diverse group of pregnant women, with 79 % receiving public health insurance. In quantile g-computation models, a simultaneous one-quartile increase in all PFAS, perceived stress, depression, anxiety, and gendered racial stress was associated with a reduction in birthweight z-scores (mean %change per quartile increase = -0.24, 95 % confidence interval = -0.43, -0.06). BKMR similarly showed that increasing all exposures in the mixture was associated with a modest decrease in birthweight z-scores, but not a reduced length of gestation. DISCUSSION: Using methods designed for analyzing exposure mixtures, we found that a simultaneous increase in in utero PFAS and psychosocial stressors was associated with reduced birthweight for gestational age z-scores.

Prevalence of neonicotinoid insecticides in paired private-well tap water and human urine samples in a region of intense agriculture overlying vulnerable aquifers in eastern Iowa.

A pilot study among farming households in eastern Iowa was conducted to assess human exposure to neonicotinoids (NEOs). The study was in a region with intense crop and livestock production and where groundwater is vulnerable to surface-applied contaminants. In addition to paired outdoor (hydrant) water and indoor (tap) water samples from private wells, urine samples were collected from 47 adult male pesticide applicators along with the completions of dietary and occupational surveys. Estimated Daily Intake (EDI) were then calculated to examine exposures for different aged family members. NEOs were detected in 53% of outdoor and 55% of indoor samples, with two or more NEOs in 13% of samples. Clothianidin was the most frequently detected NEO in water samples. Human exposure was ubiquitous in urine samples. A median of 10 different NEOs and/or metabolites were detected in urine, with clothianidin, nitenpyram, thiamethoxam, 6-chloronicotinic acid, and thiacloprid amide detected in every urine samples analyzed. Dinotefuran, imidaclothiz, acetamiprid-N-desmethyl, and N-desmethyl thiamethoxam were found in ≥70% of urine samples. Observed water intake for study participants and EDIs were below the chronic reference doses (CRfD) and acceptable daily intake (ADI) standards for all NEOs indicating minimal risk from ingestion of tap water. The study results indicate that while the consumption of private well tap water provides a human exposure pathway, the companion urine results provide evidence that diet and/or other exposure pathways (e.g., occupational, house dust) may contribute to exposure more than water contamination. Further biomonitoring research is needed to better understand the scale of human exposure from different sources.