Effects of Lead on Gene Expression in Neural Stem Cells and Associations between Up-regulated Genes and Cognitive Scores in Children.

Background: Lead (Pb) adversely affects neurodevelopment in children. Neural stem cells (NSCs) play an essential role in shaping the developing brain, yet little is known about how Pb perturbs NSC functions and whether such perturbation contributes to impaired neurodevelopment.

Objectives: We aimed to identify Pb-induced transcriptomic changes in NSCs and to link these changes to neurodevelopmental outcomes in children who were exposed to Pb.