Prenatal lead exposure, telomere length in cord blood, and DNA methylation age in the PROGRESS prenatal cohort.

BACKGROUND

Lead is a ubiquitous pollutant with deleterious effects on human health and remains a major current public health concern in developing countries. This heavy metal may interfere with nucleic acids via oxidative stress or epigenetic changes that affect biological markers of aging, e.g., telomere length and DNA methylation (DNAm). Telomere shortening associates with biological age in newborns, and DNA methylation at specific CpG sites can be used to calculate "epigenetic clocks".

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to examine the associations of prenatal lead exposures with telomere length and DNA-methylation-based predictors of age in cord blood.

DESIGN

The study included 507 mother-child pairs from the Programming Research in Obesity, Growth, Environment and Social Stressors (PROGRESS) study, a birth cohort in Mexico City. Maternal blood (second trimester, third trimester and at delivery) and bone lead levels (one month postpartum) were measured using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry and X-ray fluorescence, respectively. Cord blood leukocyte telomere length was measured using quantitative PCR and apparent age by DNA methylation biomarkers, i.e., Horvath's DNA methylation age and the Knight's predictor of gestational age.

RESULTS

Average maternal age was 28.5 ± 5.5 years, and 51.5% reported low socioeconomic status. Children's mean telomere length was 1.2 ± 1.3 relative units, and mean DNA methylation ages using the Horvath's and Knight's clocks were -2.6 ± 0.1 years and 37.9 ± 1.4 weeks (mean ± SD), respectively. No significant associations were found between maternal blood and bone lead concentrations with telomere length and DNAm age in newborns.

CONCLUSION

We found no associations of prenatal lead exposure with telomere length and DNA methylation age biomarkers.