Prenatal Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) and Its Potential Impact on Infant Metabolism during the First Month of Life: Evidence from Two Distinct Cohorts─The Atlanta African American Maternal-Child Cohort and the Southern California Mother’s Milk Study
Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Exposure to traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) during pregnancy has been linked with adverse health outcomes, yet the biological mechanisms remain poorly understood. High-resolution metabolomics offers a promising approach to examine how TRAP influences infant health. However, few studies have focused on Black and Latino populations, who are disproportionately exposed to TRAP. This study aims to assess the association between prenatal exposure to TRAP and the infant metabolome in two distinct, geographically independent populations: the prospective Atlanta African American Cohort and the Southern California Mother’s Milk Study (MMS). This study provides novel evidence that prenatal nitrogen oxides (NO x ), a major component of TRAP, are associated with perturbations in the infant circulating and fecal metabolome during the first month of life. We found that prenatal NO x exposure was linked with the intensity of 8 and 16 level-1 metabolites in the ATL AA and MMS, respectively. Metabolites associated with NO x included several involved in lipid and xenobiotic metabolism. In analyses including untargeted metabolic features, we found that prenatal NO x was associated with perturbations in metabolic pathways including oxidative stress and inflammatory response. These findings provide novel insight into the biological mechanisms by which prenatal TRAP may influence infant health and development.
Language: English
Subfield: Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,500
Funders: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Gerber Foundation, Health Effects Institute, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Emory University, Johns Hopkins University, National Institutes of Health, School of Medicine, Emory University, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH Office of the Director, National Institute of Nursing Research, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities
Awards: G1257975055, G1258331789, G1745527522, G1836571267, G1988778843, G2190254635, G2420395173, G252213851, G2551892427, Traffic Exposure, Maternal Metabolome and Birth Outcomes Study (TEMMBO Study), G2842434146, National Exposure Assessment Laboratory at Emory, G3136860156, Maintenance and Enhancement of the Atlanta African American Maternal-Child Cohort: Exposome Profiling via High-resolution Metabolomics and Integration of Microbiome-Metabolome-Epigenome Data, G3709720483, G3741175701, G383386846, G4104830663, G5340521262, G778889757, G8184726372, G8357221324, G881700401, The Omics and Mixtures Integration on Traffic exposure and Preterm Birth (OMIT-PTB) Study, Transdisciplinary Training in Sleep and Circadian Research, Perfluoroalkyl Substances and the Gut Microbiome and Fecal Metabolome: Implications for Obesity Risk in Hispanic Children
OpenAlex ID: W4413977068