ArticlePloS one2014
Expression of the sFLT1 gene in cord blood cells is associated to maternal arsenic exposure and decreased birth weight.
Article in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 38 citations in OpenAlex.
- Association between arsenic exposure and intrauterine growth restriction: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- Prenatal Exposure to Potentially Toxic Metals and Their Effects on Genetic Material in Offspring: a Systematic Review.Biological trace element research · 2023Pooled it
- Angiogenic cytokines and their influence on circulating tumour cells in sera of patients with the primary diagnosis of breast cancer before treatment.BMC cancer · 2016Trial
- Association between gestational arsenic exposure and infant physical development: a prospective cohort study.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Inhibition of FLT1 Attenuates Neurodevelopmental Abnormalities and Cognitive Impairment in Offspring Caused by Maternal Prenatal Stress.Applied biochemistry and biotechnology · 2024Article
- Update of the risk assessment of inorganic arsenic in food.EFSA journal. European Food Safety Authority · 2024Article
- Prenatal Exposure to Metabolism-Disrupting Chemicals, Cord Blood Transcriptome Perturbations, and Birth Weight in a Belgian Birth Cohort.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Maternal serum concentrations of one-carbon metabolism factors modify the association between biomarkers of arsenic methylation efficiency and birth weight.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2022Article
- DNA methylation changes induced by prenatal toxic metal exposure: An overview of epidemiological evidence.Environmental epigenetics · 2021Review
- Maternal blood arsenic levels and associations with birth weight-for-gestational age.Environmental research · 2019Article
- Article
- Fetal-sex dependent genomic responses in the circulating lymphocytes of arsenic-exposed pregnant women in New Hampshire.Reproductive toxicology (Elmsford, N.Y.) · 2017Article
- Identification of vascular disruptor compounds by analysis in zebrafish embryos and mouse embryonic endothelial cells.Reproductive toxicology (Elmsford, N.Y.) · 2017Article
- Prenatal Arsenic Exposure and Birth Outcomes among a Population Residing near a Mining-Related Superfund Site.Environmental health perspectives · 2016Article
- Combined Effects of Prenatal Exposures to Environmental Chemicals on Birth Weight.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2016Article
- Phthalate metabolites and bisphenol-A in association with circulating angiogenic biomarkers across pregnancy.Placenta · 2015Article
- Epidemiologic evidence for association between adverse environmental exposures in early life and epigenetic variation: a potential link to disease susceptibility?Clinical epigenetics · 2015Review
- DNA Methylation Patterns in Cord Blood of Neonates Across Gestational Age: Association With Cell-Type Proportions.Nursing researchArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
There is increasing epidemiologic evidence that arsenic exposure in utero is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes and may contribute to long-term health effects. These effects may occur at low environmental exposures but the underlying molecular mechanism is not clear. We collected cord blood samples of 183 newborns to identify associations between arsenic levels and birth anthropometric parameters in an area with very low arsenic exposure. Our core research aim was to screen for transcriptional marks that mechanistically explain these associations. Multiple regression analyses showed that birth weight decreased with 47 g (95% CI: 16-78 g) for an interquartile range increase of 0.99 μg/L arsenic. The model was adjusted for child's sex, maternal smoking during pregnancy, gestational age, and parity. Higher arsenic concentrations and reduced birth weight were positively associated with changes in expression of the sFLT1 (soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1) gene in cord blood cells in girls. The protein product of sFLT1 is a scavenger of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the extracellular environment and plays a key role in the inhibition of placental angiogenesis. In terms of fetal development, inhibition of placental angiogenesis leads to impaired nutrition and hence to growth retardation. Various genes related to DNA methylation and oxidative stress showed also changed expression in relation to arsenic exposure but were not related to birth outcome parameters. In conclusion, this study suggests that increased expression of sFLT1 is an intermediate marker that points to placental angiogenesis as a pathway linking prenatal arsenic exposure to reduced birth weight.
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