Fine Dust Exposure During Pregnancy Adversely Affects Fetal Immunity [Unboxing Lab]

[Financial News] A research team led by Professor Kim Kwon-il of the Department of Biology at Kyung Hee University, together with teams led by Professor Hong Soo-jong of the National Medical Center and Professor Park Yong-joo of Kyungsung University, identified a link between exposure to ultrafine particulate matter during early pregnancy and changes in fetal immune cells. The team analyzed the immune-cell changes associated with exposure to ultrafine particles during pregnancy and atopic dermatitis in children. The findings were published in the international journal Nature Communications on August 8.
The study examined how exposure to ultrafine particulate matter during pregnancy is related to children's immune systems and atopic dermatitis. The researchers suggested that changes in immune cells formed during fetal development may be linked to allergy-related inflammatory responses after birth.

The researchers analyzed data from 986 children whose health had been tracked from birth. They compared the children's exposure to ultrafine particulate matter during pregnancy with whether they developed atopic dermatitis. The analysis showed a particularly clear association between exposure during early pregnancy and atopic dermatitis.
Atopic dermatitis had developed in 37.5% of the children by age three. Higher overall exposure to ultrafine particulate matter during pregnancy was associated with a stronger link to atopic dermatitis at age three. In particular, the researchers confirmed an association between exposure during the first three months of pregnancy and atopic dermatitis.
The team went further by examining genetic data from cells in the placenta and umbilical cord blood. They analyzed about 400,000 cells to identify which immune cells changed in association with exposure to ultrafine particulate matter during pregnancy.

The analysis found changes involving the FCER1G gene in fetal immune cells in the placenta. As the way this gene functioned changed, activity related to immune responses also increased.
The researchers also examined whether these changes occurred only during the fetal stage. After comparing data from multiple stages, from fetal development through later growth, they found that changes involving the same gene also appeared in immune cells in the skin and blood of patients with atopic dermatitis.
The team also analyzed separate skin-cell data. The analysis covered about 710,000 cells obtained from the skin of 91 patients with atopic dermatitis and 62 healthy individuals. Similar changes were observed in experiments involving immune cells exposed to fine dust.
Taken together, the findings suggest that exposure to ultrafine particulate matter during pregnancy may leave gene-regulatory changes in fetal immune cells, which could develop into immune responses associated with atopic dermatitis as the child grows.
Professor Kim Kwon-il said, "We confirmed that exposure to fine dust during fetal development can leave a kind of 'molecular trace' in immune cells," adding, "This could eventually be expanded into research to predict the risk of allergic diseases early and to prevent and treat them."

[email protected] Kim Man-gi Reporter