AUTHOR=Kim Christine , Ashrap Pahriya , Watkins Deborah J. , Mukherjee Bhramar , Rosario-Pabón Zaira Y. , Vélez-Vega Carmen M. , Alshawabkeh Akram N. , Cordero José F. , Meeker John D. 

TITLE=Maternal Metals/Metalloid Blood Levels Are Associated With Lipidomic Profiles Among Pregnant Women in Puerto Rico

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2021

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.754706

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2021.754706

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=Background/Aim: The association between heavy metal exposure and adverse birth outcomes is well established. However, there is a paucity of research identifying biomarker profiles that may improve the early detection of heavy metal-induced adverse birth outcomes. Because lipids are abundant in our body and associated with important signaling pathways, we assessed associations between maternal metals/metalloid blood levels with lipidomic profiles among 83 pregnant women in the Puerto Rico PROTECT birth cohort. 

Methods: We measured 10 metals/metalloid blood levels during 24-28 weeks of pregnancy. Prenatal plasma lipidomic profiles were identified by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-based shotgun lipidomics. We derived sums for each lipid class and sums for each lipid sub-class (saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated), which were then regressed on metals/metalloid. False discovery rate (FDR) adjusted p-values (q-values) were used to account for multiple comparisons. 

Results: A total of 587 unique lipids from 19 lipid classes were profiled. When controlling for multiple comparisons, we observed that maternal exposure to manganese and zinc were negatively associated with plasmenyl phosphatidylethanolamine, particularly those containing polyunsaturated fatty acid chains. In contrast to manganese and zinc, arsenic and mercury were positively associated with plasmenyl phosphatidylethanolamine and plasmenyl phosphatidylcholine.

Conclusion: Certain metals were significantly associated with lipids that are responsible for the biophysical properties of the cell membrane and antioxidant defense in lipid peroxidation. This study highlighted lipid-metal associations and we anticipate that this study will open up new avenues for developing diagnostic tools.