Air Pollution and Lymphocyte Phenotype Proportions in Cord Blood Irva Hertz-Picciotto,1 Caroline E.W. Herr,1,2 Poh-Sin
Yap,1 Miroslav Dostál,3 Robert H. Shumway,4 Paul
Ashwood,5 Michael Lipsett,6 Jesse P. Joad,7 Kent
E. Pinkerton,8 and Radim J. Sˇrám3 1Department of Public Health Sciences, University of California,
Davis, California, USA; 2Institute of Hygiene and Environmental
Medicine, University of Giessen, Germany; 3Laboratory of Genetic
Ecotoxicology, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Academy of Sciences of the
Czech Republic, and Health Institute of Central Bohemia, Prague, Czech Republic; 4Department
of Statistics and 5Department of Rheumatology, Allergy, and Clinical
Immunology, University of California, Davis, California, USA; 6Department
of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco,
California, USA; 7Department of Pediatrics, and 8Center
for Health and the Environment, University of California, Davis, California,
USA Abstract Effects of air pollution on morbidity and mortality may be mediated by alterations in immune competence. In this study we examined short-term associations of air pollution exposures with lymphocyte immunophenotypes in cord blood among 1,397 deliveries in two districts of the Czech Republic. We measured fine particulate matter < 2.5 µm in diameter (PM2.5) and 12 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in 24-hr samples collected by versatile air pollution samplers. Cord blood samples were analyzed using a FACSort flow cytometer to determine phenotypes of CD3+ T-lymphocytes and their subsets CD4+ and CD8+, CD19+ B-lymphocytes, and natural killer cells. The mothers were interviewed regarding sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, and medical records were abstracted for obstetric, labor and delivery characteristics. During the period 1994 to 1998, the mean daily ambient concentration of PM2.5 was 24.8 µg/m3 and that of PAHs was 63.5 ng/m3. In multiple linear regression models adjusted for temperature, season, and other covariates, average PAH or PM2.5 levels during the 14 days before birth were associated with decreases in T-lymphocyte phenotype fractions (i.e., CD3+ CD4+, and CD8+) , and a clear increase in the B-lymphocyte (CD19+) fraction. For a 100-ng/m3 increase in PAHs, which represented approximately two standard deviations, the percentage decrease was -3.3% [95% confidence interval (CI) , -5.6 to -1.0%] for CD3+, -3.1% (95% CI, -4.9 to -1.3%) for CD4+, and -1.0% (95% CI, -1.8 to -0.2%) for CD8+ cells. The corresponding increase in the CD19+ cell proportion was 1.7% (95% CI, 0.4 to 3.0%) . Associations were similar but slightly weaker for PM2.5. Ambient air pollution may influence the relative distribution of lymphocyte immunophenotypes of the fetus. Key words: air pollution, B-cell, cord blood, immune status, immunology, lymphocytes, natural killer cells, PAH, PM10, pregnancy, T-cell. Environ Health Perspect 113:1391-1398 (2005) . doi:10.1289/ehp.7610 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 15 June 2005] Address correspondence to I. Hertz-Picciotto, Department of Public Health Sciences, Division of Epidemiology, TB #168, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95616 USA. Telephone: (530) 752-3025. Fax: (530) 752-3239. E-mail: ihp@ucdavis.edu This work was supported in part by the Czech Ministry of Environment (Teplice Program) , the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (CR 820076) , the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Commission of the European Community (PHARE II, EC/HEA 18/CZ) , Health Effects Institute, and National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences 1P01-ES11269. The authors declare they have no competing financial interests. Received 27 September 2004 ; accepted 14 June 2005. The full version of this article is available for free in HTML or PDF formats. |