ArticleEnvironmental research2021
Metabolomics analysis of maternal serum exposed to high air pollution during pregnancy and risk of autism spectrum disorder in offspring.
Article in Environmental research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
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11 citing papers in PubMed, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prenatal targeted maternal pregnancy metabolomic profiles, child emotional and behavioral problems, and autism related traits in the NYU CHES cohort.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- Newborn metabolomics linking prenatal air pollution exposure and autism spectrum disorder risk in children.Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology · 2026Article
- Article
- Oxidative Stress-Related Metabolomic Alterations in Pregnancy: Evidence from Exposure to Air Pollution, Metals/Metalloid, and Tobacco Smoke.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Maternal serum and placental metabolomes in association with prenatal exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and their relevance to child neurodevelopment in an ASD-enriched cohort.Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987) · 2025Article
- Maternal metabolomics linking prenatal exposure to fine particulate matter and birth weight: a cross-sectional analysis of the MADRES cohort.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2025Article
- Prenatal 1-Nitropyrene Exposure Causes Autism-Like Behavior Partially by Altering DNA Hydroxymethylation in Developing Brain.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2024Article
- Gut Microbiota-Metabolite-Brain Axis Reconstitution Reverses Sevoflurane-Induced Social and Synaptic Deficits in Neonatal Mice.Research (Washington, D.C.) · 2024Article
- Metabolomic analysis of maternal mid-gestation plasma and cord blood in autism spectrum disorders.Molecular psychiatry · 2023Article
- Exposure to local, source-specific ambient air pollution during pregnancy and autism in children: a cohort study from southern Sweden.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Plasma metabolic disturbances during pregnancy and postpartum in women with depression.iScience · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPreviously, numerous epidemiologic studies reported an association between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and exposure to air pollution during pregnancy. However, there have been no metabolomics studies investigating the impact of pregnancy pollution exposure to ASD risk in offspring.
objectivesTo identify differences in maternal metabolism that may reflect a biological response to exposure to high air pollution in pregnancies of offspring who later did or did not develop ASD.
methodsWe obtained stored mid-pregnancy serum from 214 mothers who lived in California's Central Valley and experienced the highest levels of air pollution during early pregnancy. We estimated each woman's average traffic-related air pollution exposure (carbon monoxide, nitric oxides, and particulate matter <2.5 μm) during the first trimester using the California Line Source Dispersion Model, version 4 (CALINE4). By utilizing liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry, we identified the metabolic profiles of maternal serum for 116 mothers with offspring who later developed ASD and 98 control mothers. Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was employed to select metabolic features associated with air pollution exposure or autism risk in offspring. We also conducted extensive pathway enrichment analysis to elucidate potential ASD-related changes in the metabolome of pregnant women.
resultsWe extracted 4022 and 4945 metabolic features from maternal serum samples in hydrophilic interaction (HILIC) chromatography (positive ion mode) and C18 (negative ion mode) columns, respectively. After controlling for potential confounders, we identified 167 and 222 discriminative features (HILIC and C18, respectively). Pathway enrichment analysis to discriminate metabolic features associated with ASD risk indicated various metabolic pathway perturbations linked to the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and mitochondrial function, including carnitine shuttle, amino acid metabolism, bile acid metabolism, and vitamin A metabolism.
conclusionUsing high resolution metabolomics, we identified several metabolic pathways disturbed in mothers with ASD offspring among women experiencing high exposure to traffic-related air pollution during pregnancy that were associated with mitochondrial dysfunction. These findings provide us with a better understanding of metabolic disturbances involved in the development of ASD under adverse environmental conditions.
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