Fluoride-related changes in the fetal cord blood proteome; a pilot study.

Abstract

Objective

To identify changes in cord blood proteins associated with maternal serum fluoride concentration in pregnant women.

Methods

The proteomes of 19 archived second-trimester cord blood samples from women living in northern California, USA, and having varied serum fluoride concentrations, were analyzed by quantitative mass spectrometry. The 327 proteins that were quantified were characterized by their abundance relative to maternal serum fluoride concentration, and subjected to pathway analyses using PANTHER and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis processes.

Results

Pathway analyses showed significant increases in process related to reactive oxygen species and cellular oxidant detoxification, associated with increasing maternal serum fluoride concentrations. Pathways showing significant decreases included complement cascade, suggesting alterations in alterations in process associated with inflammation.

Conclusion

Maternal fluoride exposure, as measured by serum fluoride concentrations in a small, but representative sample of women from northern California, USA, showed significant changes in the second trimester cord blood proteome relative to maternal serum fluoride concentration.

Peer Review reports

Full text study online at https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12940-024-01102-1

Excerpt:

In summary, our findings in this pilot study reveal that maternal plasma fluoride concentration is significantly associated with pathways related to oxidative stress, and provides the first human evidence of fluoride related mechanisms, previously identified in animal studies. The findings of this pilot study indicate the need for further studies on possible mechansims by which low level fluoride exposure during pregnancy may alter fetal development.