Description:
Environmental exposure to persistent organic pollutants during pregnancy exerts adverse health effects on the fetus. One of these environmental pollutants is polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB). Earlier, we reported the presence of PCBs in fetal tissues such as the umbilical cord. Telomere length (TL) is a biomarker of aging because it shortens with each cell division. Furthermore, there are reports that TL is shortened by chemical exposure, stress, and diseases. However, there are also reports insisting that some carcinogenic substances are associated with long TLs. According to the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) hypothesis, fetal exposure to environmental pollutants during pregnancy affects non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in later life. In this study, we investigated the association between cord tissue TL and serum levels of PCBs. The subjects were 114 mother-child pairs participating in a birth cohort, the Chiba study of Mother and Child Health (C-MACH). Maternal serum was collected during pregnancy. We obtained the cord serum and tissue at birth. TL was assessed by qPCR using genomic DNA extracted from the cord tissue. Maternal and cord serum PCB congener levels were assessed using chromatography (GC) and negative ion chemical ionization qMS (NICI-qMS). In male fetuses, serum levels of PCB74 in the cord blood were significantly associated with TL following covariate adjustment. No significant association was found between female fetuses. These data suggest that the TL of the umbilical cord is affected by fetal exposure to PCBs and may be a biomarker of PCB exposure and some disease later in life