Placental Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) Levels Are Associated with Spontaneous Preterm Birth.

Authors

Gwendolynn Hummel
Sohini Banerjee
Vasanta Putluri
Inaara Malick
Grace Johnson
Abu Hena Mostafa Kamal
Chandra Shekar R Ambati
Nagireddy Putluri
Lori Showalter
Cynthia D Shope
Joseph Hagan
Kjersti M Aagaard
Bhagavatula Moorthy
Melissa A Suter

Language

English

Publication Date

8-23-2025

Journal

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

DOI

10.3390/ijms26178179

PMID

40943106

PMCID

PMC12428254

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

8-23-2025

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Post-print

Abstract

While the cause of preterm birth (PTB) (i.e., delivery before 37 weeks of gestation) is likely multifactorial, ambient exposure to environmental chemicals has been postulated to play a role in its etiology. Our prior studies of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in pregnancy have shown an increased level of placental PAH-induced bulky DNA adducts with increasing levels of PAH exposures. In this investigation, we hypothesized that higher levels of placental PAHs would be associated with an increased risk of PTB. Using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS), we measured levels of benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), benzo(b)fluoranthene (BbF) and dibenz(a,h)anthracene (DBA) from n = 323 subjects. We found higher levels of BbF in placentae collected from preterm compared with term deliveries (mean 100.3 vs. 84.14 ng/mL, p = 0.038). Placental BbF levels negatively correlated with gestational age at delivery (r_s = −0.171, p = 0.002) and placental DBA levels were higher in placentae from spontaneous PTBs compared to those that were medically indicated (mean 743.7 vs. 599.9 ng/mL, p = 0.049), suggesting a potentially causal role in spontaneous preterm birth. Lastly, we analyzed placental levels of each PAH in male (n = 164) and female (n = 159) gestations and found that levels of BaP are significantly higher in males (mean 204.4 vs. 169.9 ng/mL, p = 0.049). These studies show a potential causal role of PAH exposure in the etiology of spontaneous preterm birth.

Keywords

Humans, Female, Pregnancy, Premature Birth, Placenta, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, Adult, Male, Infant, Newborn, Benzo(a)pyrene, Gestational Age, Superfund, environmental health, pregnancy

Published Open-Access

yes

Recommended Citation

Hummel, Gwendolynn; Banerjee, Sohini; Putluri, Vasanta; et al., "Placental Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) Levels Are Associated with Spontaneous Preterm Birth." (2025). Faculty and Staff Publications. 4896.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/baylor_docs/4896