Sexually Dimorphic Accumulation of Persistent Organic Pollutants in Fetuses

Abstract

Living in an industrialized era, we are exposed to man-made chemicals including persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Previous studies have shown associations of POP exposure with adverse outcomes in humans, wildlife, and the environment, making it a global concern. Exposure during sensitive windows of susceptibility such as fetal development is of particular concern because of the potential increased risk of developing diseases in childhood and adulthood. However, there are limited studies on the sexual dimorphism of POP accumulation during the prenatal period. In this mini-review, we focus on differences in POP concentrations in the placenta and fetal tissues between males and females. We also show the sexually dimorphic adverse outcomes of prenatal exposure to POPs. Overall, our summary shows that males may accumulate higher concentrations of POPs in the placenta and fetal tissues compared to females, although studies are sparse and inconsistent. In addition, there are differences in adverse health outcomes associated to prenatal POP exposure according to sex. Hence, we highly urge researchers investigating the health effects of POP exposure to consider sexual dimorphism in their studies.

Associations of Serum Perfluoroalkyl Substances and Placental Human Chorionic Gonadotropin in Early Pregnancy, Measured in the UPSIDE Study in Rochester, New York

“…In contrast to social determinants, fetal sex is a biological construct here and is also associated with PFAS and hCG levels. 62 , 64 These factors were added to models by including them as covariates and also by including an interaction product term of (serum PFAS × covariate). Subgroup specific beta coefficients and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated by linear contrast statements (package: multcomp in R).…”

A human-relevant mixture of endocrine disrupting chemicals induces changes in hippocampal DNA methylation correlating with hyperactive behavior in male mice

“…This suggests that the mixture had sex-specific effects on brain development and function, which could be due to biological differences (e.g. different hormonal and gene expression levels) or due to differences in placenta protective response in males and females, and hence in local chemical concentrations (Björvang and Mamsen, 2022).…”

Micro problems with macro consequences: accumulation of persistent organic pollutants and microplastics in human breast milk and in human milk substitutes

“…Given that PCBs, p,p'-DDE, HCB, dioxins, PBDEs, PFOS and PFOA disturb the endocrine system properties, these POPs can also be referred to as endocrine disruptive chemicals (EDCs showing a sex-dependent effect on health(Guo et al 2019; Björvang and Mamsen 2022). In some cases, accumulation can occur before birth as such contaminants have been identi ed in placentas and in fetal tissue(Björvang and Mamsen 2022). Clinical evidence has con rmed that prenatal exposure of dioxinlike PCBs are negatively associated with head circumference, a parameter that can measure delayed brain development(Ouidir et al 2020;Landrigan et al 2020) and adverse neurocognitive outcomes have been described for adults(Pessah et al 2019).…”