Impact of air pollution exposure on cytokines and histone modification profiles at single-cell levels during pregnancy
Fine particulate matter (PM<sub>2.5</sub>) exposure can induce immune system pathology via epigenetic modification, affecting pregnancy outcomes. Our study investigated the association between PM<sub>2.5</sub> exposure and immune response, as well as epigenetic changes using high-dimensional epigenetic landscape profiling using cytometry by time-of-flight (EpiTOF) at the single cell. We found statistically significant associations between PM<sub>2.5</sub> exposure and levels of certain cytokines [interleukin-1RA (IL-1RA), IL-8/CXCL8, IL-18, and IL-27)] and histone posttranslational modifications (HPTMs) in immune cells (HPTMs: H3K9ac, H3K23ac, H3K27ac, H2BK120ub, H4K20me1/3, and H3K9me1/2) among pregnant and nonpregnant women. The cord blood of neonates with high maternal PM<sub>2.5</sub> exposure showed lower IL-27 than those with low exposure. Furthermore, PM<sub>2.5</sub> exposure affects the co-modification profiles of cytokines between pregnant women and their neonates, along with HPTMs in each immune cell type between pregnant and nonpregnant women. These modifications in specific histones and cytokines could indicate the toxicological mechanism of PM<sub>2.5</sub> exposure in inflammation, inflammasome pathway, and pregnancy complications.
Authors
- Liza Lutzker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0611-0158)
- Paul J. Utz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1181-1565)
- Rosemarie H. DeKruyff (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3847-9446)
- Juan Aguilera (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6451-0662)
- Trevor D. Burt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7933-529X)
- Kari Christine Nadeau (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2146-2955)
- Nima Aghaeepour (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6117-8764)
- Frederick Lurmann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9943-4172)
- Abhinav Kaushik (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5682-0209)
- Stuart Cansdale
- Elizabeth M. Noth (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9159-6924)
- John R. Balmes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2246-7002)
- Holden T. Maecker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0795-9946)
- Anne R. Waldrop (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5437-0259)
- Yael Rosenburg-Hasson
- Purvesh Khatri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4143-4708)
- Rizwan Ahmed (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6877-2662)
- Youn Soo Jung (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1441-2618)
- Emily Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6028-2455)
- S. Katherine Hammond
- Mary M. Johnson
- J Ha (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7782-9090)
Institutions
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (US)
- California Air Resources Board (US)
- Harvard University (US)
- Duke University (US)
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- Sonoma Technology (United States) (US)
- Berkeley Public Health Division (US)
- Institute of Infection and Immunity (CA)
- The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (US)
- University of California, Berkeley (US)
- Stanford University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science Advances
- Published
- 2024-11-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adp5227
- Citations
- 20
- Primary Topic
- Air Quality and Health Impacts
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 6.29
Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute