Impacts Of Gestational Factors On Newborn Leukocyte Telomere Length

Background:Telomeres play an important role in human health.Telomere erosion is associated with various diseases.Variation of telomere length originates from the intrauterine developmental stage.It is of great significance to study the"programming"effects of the gestational factors on the newborn telomere length and the mechanisms.Objective:This study was to analyze the impacts of gestational stress factors,hormone levels?cortisol,dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate[DHEAS]and estradiol?and perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances?PFASs?concentrations in cord blood on newborn telomere length.Methods:1.Recruitment of the birth cohort:Information of the pregnant woman and newborns was obtained from the questionnaires and medical history.Cord blood samples was collected.2.Concentrations of cortisol,DHEAS,estradiol,reactive oxygen species?ROS?and PFASs and telomere length were measured in umbilical cord blood.Results:1.Associations between gestational stress factors and newborn telomere length were analyzed in this part.We found that neonatal telomere length was decreased as the degree of meconium-staining amniotic fluid aggravated.2.There was a significant,independent effect of log-transformed DHEAS concentrations on newborn telomere length??=0.022,95%CI:0.010-0.034, P=0.0006?analyzed by generalized linear model.Newborns with ROS concentrations higher than 260mol/L had shorter telomere length than those below 260mol/L.Furthermore,DHEAS concentrations were inversely associated with ROS(P<1×10^-4).We speculated that DHEAS protected telomere length by anti-oxidative stress.3.Female newborn telomere length was significantly shorter in the highest quartile of PFOS or PFDA concentrations compared with the lowest quartile?PFOS:?=-0.023,P=0.026;PFDA:?=-0.026,P=0.011?.ROS concentrations were significantly higher?PFOS:?=21.62,P=0.031;PFDA:?=25.11,P=0.011?for the female newborns fell in the highest quartile of PFOS or PFDA concentrations. Furthermore,ROS concentrations was inversely associated with telomere length ?r=-0.14;P=0.02?among female newborns.We speculated that perinatal exposure to high concentrations of PFOS or PFDA shortened female neonatal telomere length by inducing oxidative damage.Conclusions:In this study,we found the impacts of meconium-staining amniotic fluid,concentrations of DHEAS,PFOS and PFDA in cord blood on newborn telomere length,which deepened the understanding of the"programming"effects of intrauterine environment on the offspring's telomere.