Cytochrome P450IA1 polymorphisms along with PM(10) exposure contribute to the risk of birth weight reduction

Gene-environment interactions related to maternal exposure to environmental and lifestyle-related chemicals during pregnancy and the resulting adverse fetal growth: a review

Background

There are only limited numbers of reviews on the association of maternal-child genetic polymorphisms and environmental and lifestyle-related chemical exposure during pregnancy with adverse fetal growth. Thus, this article aims to review: (1) the effect of associations between the above highlighted factors on adverse fetal growth and (2) recent birth cohort studies regarding environmental health risks.

Methods

Based on a search of the PubMed database through August 2021, 68 epidemiological studies on gene-environment interactions, focusing on the association between environmental and lifestyle-related chemical exposure and adverse fetal growth was identified. Moreover, we also reviewed recent worldwide birth cohort studies regarding environmental health risks.

Results

Thirty studies examined gene-smoking associations with adverse fetal growth. Sixteen maternal genes significantly modified the association between maternal smoking and adverse fetal growth. Two genes significantly related with this association were detected in infants. Moreover, the maternal genes that significantly interacted with maternal smoking during pregnancy were cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1), X-ray repair cross-complementing protein 3 (XRCC3), interleukin 6 (IL6), interleukin 1 beta (IL1B), human leukocyte antigen (HLA) DQ alpha 1 (HLA-DQA1), HLA DQ beta 1 (HLA-DQB1), and nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. Fetal genes that had significant interactions with maternal smoking during pregnancy were glutathione S-transferase theta 1 (GSTT1) and fat mass and obesity-associated protein (FTO). Thirty-eight studies examined the association between chemical exposures and adverse fetal growth. In 62 of the 68 epidemiological studies (91.2%), a significant association was found with adverse fetal growth. Across the studies, there was a wide variation in the analytical methods used, especially with respect to the genetic polymorphisms of interest, environmental and lifestyle-related chemicals examined, and the study design used to estimate the gene-environment interactions. It was also found that a consistently increasing number of European and worldwide large-scale birth cohort studies on environmental health risks have been conducted since approximately 1996.

Conclusion

There is some evidence to suggest the importance of gene-environment interactions on adverse fetal growth. The current knowledge on gene-environment interactions will help guide future studies on the combined effects of maternal-child genetic polymorphisms and exposure to environmental and lifestyle-related chemicals during pregnancy.

Supplementary information

The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1265/ehpm.21-00033.

Genetic modification of the effect of maternal household air pollution exposure on birth weight in Guatemalan newborns

Low birth weight is associated with exposure to air pollution during pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether null polymorphisms of Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs), specifically GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes in infants or mothers, modify the association between high exposures to household air pollution (HAP) from cooking fires and birth weight. Pregnant women in rural Guatemala were randomized to receive a chimney stove or continue to use open fires for cooking. Newborns were measured within 48 h of birth. 132 mother-infant pairs provided infant genotypes (n=130) and/or maternal genotypes (n=116). Maternal null GSTM1 was associated with a 144 g (95% CI, -291, 1) and combined maternal/infant null GSTT1 was associated with a 155 g (95% CI, -303, -8) decrease in birth weight. Although there was a trend toward higher birth weights with increasing number of expressed GST genes, the effect modification by chimney stove use was not demonstrated.

The Mothers and Children's Environmental Health (MOCEH) study

The MOCEH study is a prospective hospital- and community-based cohort study designed to collect information related to environmental exposures (chemical, biological, nutritional, physical, and psychosocial) during pregnancy and childhood and to examine how exposure to environmental pollutants affects growth, development, and disease. The MOCEH network includes one coordinating center, four local centers responsible for recruiting pregnant women, and four evaluation centers (a nutrition center, bio-repository center, neurocognitive development center, and environment assessment center). At the local centers, trained nurses interview the participants to gather information regarding their demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, complications related to the current gestation period, health behaviors and environmental factors. These centers also collect samples of blood, placenta, urine, and breast milk. Environmental hygienists measure each participant's level of exposure to indoor and outdoor pollutants during the pre- and postnatal periods. The participants are followed up through delivery and until the child is 5 years of age. The MOCEH study plans to recruit 1,500 pregnant women between 2006 and 2010 and to perform follow-up studies on their children. We expect this study to provide evidence to support the hypothesis that the gestational environment has an effect on the development of diseases during adulthood. We also expect the study results to enable evaluation of latency and age-specific susceptibility to exposure to hazardous environmental pollutants, evaluation of growth retardation focused on environmental and genetic risk factors, selection of target environmental diseases in children, development of an environmental health index, and establishment of a national policy for improving the health of pregnant women and their children.

Oxidative stress-related gene interactions with preterm delivery in Korean women

OBJECTIVE

We hypothesized that the cytochrome P450IA1 (CYP1A1), glutathione S-transferases mu 1 (GSTM1), and theta 1 (GSTT1) polymorphisms are associated with the risk for preterm delivery. This study was undertaken to identify gene-gene interactions and haplotypes that increase the risk of preterm delivery.

STUDY DESIGN

This case-control study was performed in Korea on 145 women with preterm birth and 120 normal controls. Logistic regression and multifactor dimensionality reduction analysis were used to explore single genes and gene-gene interactions, which have an impact on the risk of preterm delivery, respectively.

RESULTS

The GSTM1 null genotype and the interaction between the CYP1A1-I462V and GSTM1 null type conferred a risk of preterm birth. The association between preterm delivery and the CYP1A1-T6235C/I462V haplotype plus GSTM1 null type was verified.

CONCLUSION

The interaction between the CYP1A1-I462V and GSTM1 null genotype were found to increase the risk for preterm birth in Korean women. This finding provides evidence of a gene-gene interaction, which has an impact on preterm delivery.