Prenatal and early life exposure to fine particulate matter and telomere length in early childhood.

Background: Telomere length is a biomarker of molecular aging that may be impacted by air pollution exposure starting in utero. We aimed to examine the association between prenatal and early life exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) and leukocyte telomere length (LTL) in children and explore sex differences.

Methods: Analyses included 384 mother-child pairs enrolled in the Programming Research in Obesity, Growth, and Environmental Stressors (PROGRESS) birth cohort in Mexico City.

Extracellular Vesicle-Encapsulated microRNAs and Respiratory Health Among American Indian Participants in the Strong Heart Study.

Background: American Indian populations have experienced marked disparities in respiratory disease burden. Extracellular vesicle-encapsulated microRNAs (EV-miRNAs) are a novel class of biomarkers that may improve recognition of lung damage in indigenous populations in the United States.

Research Question: Are plasma EV-miRNAs viable biomarkers of respiratory health in American Indian populations?

Study Design And Methods: The Strong Heart Study is a prospective cohort study that enrolled American Indian patients aged 45 to 74 years.

Public drinking water contaminant estimates for birth cohorts in the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Cohort.

Background: The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) regulates over 80 contaminants in community water systems (CWS), including those relevant to infant health outcomes. Multi-cohort analyses of the association between measured prenatal public water contaminant concentrations and infant health outcomes are sparse in the US.

Objective: Our objectives were to (1) develop Zip Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA)-level CWS contaminant concentrations for participants in the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Cohort and (2) evaluate regional, seasonal, and sociodemographic inequities in contaminant concentrations at the ZCTA-level.

Inverse associations of cord blood mitochondrial DNA copy number with childhood adiposity.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine associations between umbilical cord mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNAcn) and adiposity across childhood.

Methods: In a prospective birth cohort of Dominican and African American children from New York City, New York (1998-2006), mtDNAcn was measured in cord blood. Children (N = 336) were evaluated for their height, weight, and bioimpedance at age 5, 7, 9, and 11 years.

Longitudinal transcriptomic analysis of mouse sciatic nerve reveals pathways associated with age-related muscle pathology.

Background: Sarcopenia, the age-associated decline in skeletal muscle mass and strength, has long been considered a disease of muscle only, but accumulating evidence suggests that sarcopenia could originate from the neural components controlling muscles. To identify early molecular changes in nerves that may drive sarcopenia initiation, we performed a longitudinal transcriptomic analysis of the sciatic nerve, which governs lower limb muscles, in aging mice.

Methods: Sciatic nerve and gastrocnemius muscle were obtained from female C57BL/6JN mice aged 5, 18, 21 and 24 months old (n = 6 per age group).

Mitochondrial DNA copy number dynamics and associations with the prenatal environment from birth through adolescence in a population of Dominican and African American children.

Mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNAcn) dynamics throughout childhood are poorly understood. We profiled mtDNAcn from birth through adolescence and evaluated how the prenatal environment influences mtDNAcn across childhood. Data were collected from children from New York City followed through 18 years.

In Utero Exposure to Caffeine and Acetaminophen, the Gut Microbiome, and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes: A Prospective Birth Cohort Study.

Pregnant individuals are exposed to acetaminophen and caffeine, but it is unknown how these exposures interact with the developing gut microbiome. We aimed to determine whether acetaminophen and/or caffeine relate to the childhood gut microbiome and whether features of the gut microbiome alter the relationship between acetaminophen/caffeine and neurodevelopment. Forty-nine and 85 participants provided meconium and stool samples at 6-7, respectively, for exposure and microbiome assessment.

Extracellular Vesicle-Encapsulated microRNAs as Novel Biomarkers of Lung Health.

Early detection of respiratory diseases is critical to facilitate delivery of disease-modifying interventions. Extracellular vesicle-enriched microRNAs (EV-miRNAs) may represent reliable markers of early lung injury. Evaluate associations of plasma EV-miRNAs with lung function.

Breast milk-derived extracellular vesicle miRNAs are associated with maternal asthma and atopy.

Breast milk-derived extracellular vesicle (EV) miRNAs may program child health outcomes associated with maternal asthma and atopy. The authors investigated associations between maternal asthma/atopy and EV miRNAs in the Programming of Intergenerational Stress Mechanisms cohort. Breast milk-derived EV miRNAs collected 6.

Association of Prenatal Acetaminophen Exposure Measured in Meconium With Adverse Birth Outcomes in a Canadian Birth Cohort.

Background: The small number of studies examining the association of prenatal acetaminophen with birth outcomes have all relied on maternal self-report. It remains unknown whether prenatal acetaminophen exposure measured in a biological specimen is associated with birth outcomes.

Objectives: To investigate the association of acetaminophen measured in meconium with birthweight, gestational age, preterm birth, size for gestational age, gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and high blood pressure.

Associations of Childhood and Perinatal Blood Metals with Children's Gut Microbiomes in a Canadian Gestation Cohort.

Background: The gut microbiome is important in modulating health in childhood. Metal exposures affect multiple health outcomes, but their ability to modify bacterial communities in children is poorly understood.

Objectives: We assessed the associations of childhood and perinatal blood metal levels with childhood gut microbiome diversity, structure, species, gene family-inferred species, and potential pathway alterations.

Prenatal lead exposure, telomere length in cord blood, and DNA methylation age in the PROGRESS prenatal cohort.

Background: Lead is a ubiquitous pollutant with deleterious effects on human health and remains a major current public health concern in developing countries. This heavy metal may interfere with nucleic acids via oxidative stress or epigenetic changes that affect biological markers of aging, e.g.

Isolation and characterization of extracellular vesicles in saliva of children with asthma.

Aim: To confirm the presence of extracellular vesicles (EVs) in cell-free saliva (CFS) of children with asthma and describe the isolated EV population.

Methods: A pooled sample of CFS EVs isolated from 180 participants using ExoQuick-TC was examined in downstream analyses. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to confirm the presence of EVs.

Prenatal Household Air Pollution Exposure, Cord Blood Mononuclear Cell Telomere Length and Age Four Blood Pressure: Evidence from a Ghanaian Pregnancy Cohort.

Associations between prenatal household air pollution exposure (HAP), newborn telomere length and early childhood blood pressure are unknown. Methods: Pregnant women were randomized to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) stove, improved biomass stove or control (traditional, open fire cook stove). HAP was measured by personal carbon monoxide (CO) ( = 97) and fine particulate matter (PM) ( = 60).

Placental mitochondrial DNA mutational load and perinatal outcomes: Findings from a multi-ethnic pregnancy cohort.

Mitochondria fuel placental activity, with mitochondrial dysfunction implicated in several perinatal complications. We investigated placental mtDNA mutational load using NextGen sequencing in relation to birthweight and gestational length among 358 mother-newborn pairs. We found that higher heteroplasmy, especially in the hypervariable displacement loop region, was associated with shorter gestational length.

Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis for the Quantification and Size Determination of Extracellular Vesicles.

The physiological and pathophysiological roles of extracellular vesicles (EVs) have become increasingly recognized, making the EV field a quickly evolving area of research. There are many different methods for EV isolation, each with distinct advantages and disadvantages that affect the downstream yield and purity of EVs. Thus, characterizing the EV prep isolated from a given source by a chosen method is important for interpretation of downstream results and comparison of results across laboratories.

Associations Between Maternal Lifetime Stress and Placental Mitochondrial DNA Mutations in an Urban Multiethnic Cohort.

Background: Disrupted placental functioning due to stress can have lifelong implications. Cumulative stress and trauma are likely to have lasting impacts on maternal physiological functioning and offspring development, resulting in increased risk for later-life complex disorders for which racial disparities exist.

Methods: This study examined the association between maternal lifetime stress and placental mitochondrial DNA mutational load in an urban multiethnic cohort.

Maternal anxiety and depression in pregnancy and DNA methylation of the glucocorticoid receptor gene.

To quantify associations of anxiety and depression during pregnancy with differential cord blood DNA methylation of the glucorticoid receptor (). Pregnancy anxiety, trait anxiety and depressive symptoms were collected using the Pregnancy Related Anxiety Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Index and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, respectively. methylation was determined at four methylation sites.

Associations between maternal lifetime stressors and negative events in pregnancy and breast milk-derived extracellular vesicle microRNAs in the programming of intergenerational stress mechanisms (PRISM) pregnancy cohort.

Maternal stress is associated with adverse child health. Breast milk microRNAs encapsulated in extracellular vesicles (EVs) are involved in mother-infant biochemical communication during early-life programming. We leverage the PRogramming of Intergenerational Stress Mechanisms (PRISM) pregnancy cohort to investigate associations between maternal stress and breast milk EV-microRNAs.

Association between prenatal particulate air pollution exposure and telomere length in cord blood: Effect modification by fetal sex.

Introduction: In utero particulate matter exposure produces oxidative stress that impacts cellular processes that include telomere biology. Newborn telomere length is likely critical to an individual's telomere biology; reduction in this initial telomere setting may signal increased susceptibility to adverse outcomes later in life. We examined associations between prenatal particulate matter with diameter ≤2.