Qiang Zeng1, Wen-Xin Zhang2, Tong-Zhang Zheng3, Bin Zhou4, Ju-Xiao Li2, Bin Zhang4, Wei Xia2, Yuan-Yuan Li2, Shun-Qing Xu5. 1. Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, PR China; Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education & Ministry of Environmental Protection, and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (incubating), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, PR China; Department of Epidemiology, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, USA. 2. Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education & Ministry of Environmental Protection, and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (incubating), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, PR China. 3. Department of Epidemiology, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, USA. 4. Wuhan Medical and Health Center for Women and Children, Wuhan, Hubei, China. 5. Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education & Ministry of Environmental Protection, and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (incubating), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, PR China. Electronic address: xust@hust.edu.cn.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Experimental studies have demonstrated that cadmium exposure induces alterations on immune function, but epidemiological evidence is lacking. OBJECTIVE: To examine the associations between prenatal and postnatal cadmium exposure and cellular immune responses among pre-school children. METHODS: Pre-school aged children (n = 407) were followed from a prospective birth cohort study in Wuhan, China. Maternal urinary and children's plasma cadmium concentrations were measured as biomarkers of prenatal and postnatal cadmium exposure, respectively. Children's cellular immune responses were assessed by peripheral blood T lymphocyte subsets and plasma cytokines. Multivariable adjusted models were applied to estimate the associations of prenatal and postnatal cadmium exposure with T lymphocyte subsets and cytokines, and the effect modification by child gender were also examined. RESULTS: Maternal urinary cadmium was associated with reduced absolute counts of CD3+CD4+ cells (-12.45%; 95% CI: -23.74%, 0.40% for the highest vs. lowest quartile; p for trend = 0.045). Inverse associations of maternal urinary cadmium with %CD3+CD4+ cells and CD4+/CD8+ ratio were only observed among females (both p-interaction < 0.050); whereas an inverse association with absolute counts of CD3+CD8+ cells was only observed among males (p-interaction = 0.057). Positive associations of maternal urinary cadmium with %CD3+CD4+ cells, interleukin-4 (IL-4), and IL-6 were only observed among females, although there were no significant interactions. We observed no clear associations of children's plasma cadmium with T lymphocyte subsets and cytokines. CONCLUSION: Prenatal but not postnatal cadmium exposure was associated with sex-specific alterations on children's cellular immune responses.
BACKGROUND: Experimental studies have demonstrated that cadmium exposure induces alterations on immune function, but epidemiological evidence is lacking. OBJECTIVE: To examine the associations between prenatal and postnatal cadmium exposure and cellular immune responses among pre-school children. METHODS: Pre-school aged children (n = 407) were followed from a prospective birth cohort study in Wuhan, China. Maternal urinary and children's plasma cadmium concentrations were measured as biomarkers of prenatal and postnatal cadmium exposure, respectively. Children's cellular immune responses were assessed by peripheral blood T lymphocyte subsets and plasma cytokines. Multivariable adjusted models were applied to estimate the associations of prenatal and postnatal cadmium exposure with T lymphocyte subsets and cytokines, and the effect modification by child gender were also examined. RESULTS: Maternal urinary cadmium was associated with reduced absolute counts of CD3+CD4+ cells (-12.45%; 95% CI: -23.74%, 0.40% for the highest vs. lowest quartile; p for trend = 0.045). Inverse associations of maternal urinary cadmium with %CD3+CD4+ cells and CD4+/CD8+ ratio were only observed among females (both p-interaction < 0.050); whereas an inverse association with absolute counts of CD3+CD8+ cells was only observed among males (p-interaction = 0.057). Positive associations of maternal urinary cadmium with %CD3+CD4+ cells, interleukin-4 (IL-4), and IL-6 were only observed among females, although there were no significant interactions. We observed no clear associations of children's plasma cadmium with T lymphocyte subsets and cytokines. CONCLUSION: Prenatal but not postnatal cadmium exposure was associated with sex-specific alterations on children's cellular immune responses.
Authors: Anatoly V Skalny; Thania Rios Rossi Lima; Tao Ke; Ji-Chang Zhou; Julia Bornhorst; Svetlana I Alekseenko; Jan Aaseth; Ourania Anesti; Dimosthenis A Sarigiannis; Aristides Tsatsakis; Michael Aschner; Alexey A Tinkov Journal: Food Chem Toxicol Date: 2020-10-16 Impact factor: 6.023
Authors: Christine Kim; Amber L Cathey; Deborah J Watkins; Bhramar Mukherjee; Zaira Y Rosario-Pabón; Carmen M Vélez-Vega; Akram N Alshawabkeh; José F Cordero; John D Meeker Journal: Environ Epidemiol Date: 2022-07-05