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. 2016 Oct:65:263-271.
doi: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2016.08.011. Epub 2016 Aug 17.

Maternal cadmium, placental PCDHAC1, and fetal development

Todd M Everson  1 , David A Armstrong  2 , Brian P Jackson  3 , Benjamin B Green  1 , Margaret R Karagas  4 , Carmen J Marsit  5
Affiliations

Maternal cadmium, placental PCDHAC1, and fetal development

Todd M Everson et al. Reprod Toxicol. 2016 Oct.

Abstract

Cadmium (Cd) is a ubiquitous environmental contaminant implicated as a developmental toxicant, yet the underlying mechanisms that confer this toxicity are unknown. Mother-infant pairs from a Rhode Island birth cohort were investigated for the potential effects of maternal Cd exposure on fetal growth, and the possible role of the PCDHAC1 gene on this association. Mothers with higher toenail Cd concentrations were at increased odds of giving birth to an infant that was small for gestational age or with a decreased head circumference. These associations were strongest amongst those with low levels of DNA methylation in the promoter region of placental PCDHAC1. Further, we found placental PCDHAC1 expression to be inversely associated with maternal Cd, and PCDHAC1 expression positively associated with fetal growth. Our findings suggest that maternal Cd affects fetal growth even at very low concentrations, and some of these effects may be due to the differential expression of PCDHAC1.

Keywords: Expression; Fetal growth; Maternal cadmium; Methylation; PCDH; PCDHAC1; Placenta; Small for gestational age.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Financial Interests: The authors have no competing financial interests to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of maternal cadmium exposure by infant size for gestational age. Cadmium (μg/g) distribution by size for gestational age (Small = ≤ 10th BW percentile, Adequate = between the 10th and 90th BW percentiles, Large: ≥ 90th BW percentile); T-tests were used for pairwise comparisons across groups.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Correlation matrix of DNA-M levels for the PCDHAC1 gene. Pairwise Pearson correlations between DNA-M levels at CpG sites within the regulatory regions of the PCDHAC1 gene; dark purple and dark green represent strong positive and negative correlations, whereas white represents no correlation.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Assessment of whether expression of PCDHAC1 mediated the effects of maternal cadmium on infant size for gestational age. Structural equation model assessing the potential mediation of maternal Cd on size for gestational age, through low placental PCDHAC1 expression, adjusted for confounders.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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