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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Toxicol.
Sec. Environmental Toxicology
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/ftox.2025.1572486
This article is part of the Research TopicNew methods and approaches in toxicology of emerging environmental contaminantsView all articles
Associations of environmental pollution with pro-oxidant, antioxidant and inflammatory markers in pregnant mothers and newborns
Provisionally accepted
Antonin Ambroz1
Jiri Klema2Andrea Rossnerova1Alena Milcova1Anna Pastorkova1Jana Pulkrabova3Ondrej Parizek3Veronika Gomersall3Tomas Gramblicka3Jaroslav Zelenka3
Tomáš Ruml3Nikola Vrzackova3Milos Veleminsky4Newroz Hasan5
Jan Topinka1
Radim J. Sram1
Pavel Rossner1*- 1Institute of Experimental Medicine (ASCR), Prague, Czechia
- 2Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Prague, Prague, Czechia
- 3University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague, Prague, Prague, Czechia
- 4University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, České Budějovice, South Bohemia, Czechia
- 5Hospital Karvina-Raj, Karvina, Czechia
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The aim of the study was to analyze the variables that modify the levels of oxidative DNA damage and lipid peroxidation in non-smoking mothers and their newborns from environmentally distinct localities of the Czech Republic: Ceske Budejovice (CB, an agricultural region) and Karvina (an industrial region). Personal, socio-economic and medical data, concentrations of particulate matter of aerodynamic diameter < 2.5 µm (PM2.5) and benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) in the ambient air, the activities of antioxidant mechanisms (superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase) and antioxidant capacity), the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, the concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in blood plasma/cord blood plasma and urinary levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons metabolites (OH-PAHs) were investigated as parameters potentially affecting the markers of DNA oxidation (8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine, 8-oxodG) and lipid peroxidation (15-F2tisoprostane, 15-F2t-IsoP). Significantly higher levels of POPs were detected in the plasma of mothers/newborns from CB (p<0.001), while increased external levels of B[a]P and PM2.5, confirmed by analyzing urinary OH-PAHs, were found in Karvina subjects (p<0.001). In mothers, multivariate analysis showed no significant difference in oxidative stress markers between the two localities. The analysis further revealed that neither in CB nor, unexpectedly, in Karvina, did PAH exposure affect maternal lipid peroxidation. Significant associations between OH-PAHs and 15-F2t-IsoP or 8-oxodG were observed only in newborns. In addition, multivariate analyses revealed a borderline significant association between locality and 8-oxodG in the urine of all newborns (p=0.05). In conclusion, not only the maternal exposure of PAHs but also some POPs can negatively affect oxidative stress status in the early-life of newborns.
Keywords: Environmental Pollution, maternal exposure to newborn, oxidative DNA damage, Lipid Peroxidation, antioxidant response and inflammatory cytokines
Received: 07 Feb 2025; Accepted: 09 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ambroz, Klema, Rossnerova, Milcova, Pastorkova, Pulkrabova, Parizek, Gomersall, Gramblicka, Zelenka, Ruml, Vrzackova, Veleminsky, Hasan, Topinka, Sram and Rossner. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Pavel Rossner, Institute of Experimental Medicine (ASCR), Prague, Czechia
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