A Cohort Study of Immune Cells in Children with Perinatal Exposure to Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) Público

Abstract

Abstract
A Cohort Study of Immune Cells in Children with Perinatal Exposure
to Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)
Experimental studies have shown that polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) suppress
immune function in animals. The aim of this study was to determine whether perinatal
exposure to PCBs affects lymphocytes and other immune cells in children at age 16
months. We sampled 310 mother-child pairs from a birth cohort in the Slovak Republic.
Because many women in our study lived near former PCB manufacturing plant, the mean
serum level of PCB-153 was about 10 times higher than women of childbearing age in
the U.S. Perinatal exposures were estimated
concentrations in maternal serum
sampled shortly after delivery. To obtain a measure of total PCBs, we summed the six
most prevalent congeners and adjusted for serum lipids. At age 16 months, the children's
blood samples were tested for cell surface expression markers. We analyzed 16
outcomes, including markers for T cells and their subsets, B cells, activated B cells,
myeloid and lymphoid dendritic cells, dendritic-like cells, and macrophage-like cells.
Because the Slovak and Romani mothers in our sample differed on many demographic
characteristics, we stratified by ethnicity. After adjustment for potential confounders, we
found lower proportions of cytotoxic T cells (CD8+) in Romani children with higher
perinatal exposure to PCBs (Beta coefficient representing change in cytotoxic T cell
proportion for each 1-unit change in log lipid-adjusted maternal PCBs: -3.34, 95% CI: -
5.99, -0.68). The association in Slovak children was not as strong, however, and the 95%
CI for the total population was imprecise (Beta coefficient:-1.14, 95% CI: -2.34, 0.06).
We did not find an association between perinatal PCB exposure and any of the other 15
outcomes. Perinatal exposure in this highly-exposed population did not appear to affect
lymphocyte proportions at age 16 months, except possibly cytotoxic T cells.

Table of Contents

Contents

Background/Literature Review ....... 1

Materials and Methods..................15

Results.......................................20

Discussion...................................22

References..................................26

Tables........................................30

About this Master's Thesis

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School	Rollins School of Public Health
Department	Epidemiology
Degree	MPH
Submission	Master's Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Health Sciences, Epidemiology
Palabra Clave	CD marker cytotoxic T cells T cells immune polychlorinated biphenyls children dendritic cells PCBs perinatal
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Howards, Penelope, Emory University
Partnering Agencies	University, college or educational institution (other than Emory)

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