Table 5.
Prenatal exposure to environmental organic pollutants and changes in the immune system of neonates (authors ordered by year and then alphabetically).
| Author, Year [Ref.] | Location Study Design N |
Outcomes Assessed | Pollutant | Statistically Significant Main Findings | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Immune Cells Frequency | Cytokine Patterns/Ig | ||||
| Belles-Isles et al. 2002 [125] | Canada Cross-sectional N = 108 |
Lymphocytes (%) |
IgM IgG |
Fishing family | ↓ Th naïve cells ↓ IgM and ↑ IgG |
| PCBs and p,p′-DDE (cord blood) |
↑ IgG | ||||
| Lehmann et al. 2002 [139] | Germany Cohort N = 85 |
T cell cytokine response | VOCs | ↓ induced IFN-γ response (tetrachloroethylene) ↑ induced IFN-γ response (ethylbenzene and m,p-xylene) ↑ induced IL-2 response (hexane, dodecanem and tridecane) ↓ induced IL-2 response (trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene) ↑induced IL-4 response (methylcyclopentane, m,p-xylene and naphthalene) ↓ TNF-α response (methylcyclopentane¸ cyclohexane and tetrachoroethylene) |
|
| Bilrha et al. 2003 [126] | Canada Cross-sectional N = 112 |
Lymphocytes | Cytokine response IgG |
Fishing group | ↓ PHA-induced TNF-α |
| Chlorinated pesticides ΣPCBs (cord blood) |
Negative correlations between TNF-α and PCBs, p,p′-DDE, and HCB | ||||
| Noakes et al. 2006 [121] | Australia Cohort N = 31 |
Cytokine response | Organochlorines PCBs |
NS | |
| Brooks et al. 2007 [128] | USA Cohort N = 19 |
Cytokine production | Placental p,p′-DDE | ↑ IL-13 levels ↑ IL-4/IFN-γ and ↑ IL-13/IFN-γ ratio |
|
| Horváthová et al. 2011 [129] | Slovakia Cross-sectional N = 362 |
Leukocytes (%) Lymphocytes (%) |
Living in a region with high levels of PCB contamination | ↓ Dendritic-like cells ↓ Myeloid dendritic cells ↑ Memory T cells ↓ Naive/resting T cells ↓ Suppressor inducer T-cells CD4+CD62L+ ↓ Truly naive helper/inducer T-cells CD4+CD62L+CD45RA+ ↑Terminally differentiated effector memory T-cells CD4+CD62L−CD45RA+ |
|
| Horváthová et al. 2011 [130] | Slovakia Cross-sectional N = 362 |
Leukocytes Lymphocytes |
Living in a region with high levels of PCB contamination | ↑ B cells (%) ↑ Activated B cells (%) ↑ Tc cells (%) ↓ NK cells (%) |
|
| Neta et al. 2011 [131] | USA Cross-sectional N = 272 |
Cytokine production | Cis- and trans-Permethrin (Cord serum) |
↑ IL-1β levels ↓ Anti-inflammatory response (+IL-10-IL-12p70) |
|
| Oxychlordane (Cord serum) |
↓ IL-1β levels | ||||
| Trans-nonachlor Piperonyl butoxide (Cord serum) |
NS | ||||
| Wang et al. 2011 [132] | Taiwan Cohort N = 244 |
IgE | PFOA and PFOS (Cord serum) |
↑ IgE (boys) | |
| PFNA (Cord serum) |
NS | ||||
| Ashley-Martin et al. 2015 [133] | Canada Cohort N = 1258 |
TSLP IL-33 IgE |
Phthalates in maternal urine at first trimester | Inverse non-linear association between maternal urinary MCPP and IL-33/TSLP levels Inverse non-linear association between maternal urinary MCPP and IgE levels |
|
| BPA, maternal urine 1st trimester | Inverse non-linear association between maternal urinary BPA and IL-33/TSLP levels | ||||
| Ashley-Martin et al. 2015 [134] | Canada Cohort N = 1258 |
TSLP IL-33 IgE |
Organochlorines maternal plasma at 1st trimester | ↓ IL-33/TSLP (DDE) | |
| Organophosphates in maternal urine at 1st trimester | ↓ IL-33/TSLP (DEP + DETP) | ||||
| PCB, maternal plasma 1st trimester | ↓ IL-33/TSLP (PCB 118) | ||||
| Liao et al. 2016 [137] | Taiwan Cohort N = 275 |
Cytokine response | BPA | ↓ TLR3- and TLR4-stimulated TNF-α response ↓ TLR7-8-stimulated IL-6 response |
|
| Huang et al. 2017 [138] | Taiwan Cohort N = 241 |
Cytokine production | BPA | ↓ TNF-α levels | |
| Miyashita et al. 2018 [135] | Japan Cohort N = 268 |
IgE | Dioxin-like compounds, maternal blood, 2nd and 3rd trimesters | ↓ IgE (boys) | |
| Kelley et al. 2019 [136] | USA Cohort N = 56 |
Cytokine production | 12 phthalates in maternal urine, 1st trimester | ↑ MIP-α (MnBP) ↑ MCP-3 (MEHP) |
|
BPA: bisphenol A; DEP: Diethylphosphate; p,p′-DDE: p,p′-Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene; DETP: Diethylthiophosphate; HCB: hexachlorobenzene; IFN: interferon; Ig: Immunoglobulin; IL: interleukin; MCPP: Mono-3-carboxyypropylphthalate; MIP: Macrophage Inflammatory Proteins; MCP: monocyte chemotactic protein; MnBP: mono n-butyl phthalate; MEHP: mono (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate; NK: Natural Killer cells; NS: no statistically significant results; PAH: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; PCB: Polychlorinated biphenyls; PFOA: Perfluorooctanoic Acid; PFOS: perfluorooctane sulfonate; PFNA: perfluorononanoic acid; PHA: Phytohemagglutinin; PM: particle-matter; Tc: T cytotoxic cells; Th: T helper cells; TLR: toll-like receptor; TNF: tumor necrosis factor; TSLP: thymic stromal lymphopoietin; VOCs: volatile organic compounds.