ONLINK TARGET 96 INFLAMMATION ANALYSIS SERVICE

Investigators

Abstract

Excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) among pregnant women represents a significant risk factor for adverse maternal health outcomes postpartum. Evidence shows that increased exposure to chemicals in consumer products are potential contributing factors to excessive GWG due to obesogenic properties. A primary pathway for these effects is hypothesized to occur via increased inflammation and dysregulated immune function. The existing epidemiologic evidence investigating these relationships among pregnant women has been limited by: 1) measurement of nonspecific biomarkers that describe general inflammation processes (e.g., C-reactive protein); 2) minimal consideration for the longitudinal variation in maternal inflammation across gestation; and 3) assessment of chemicals one at a time, which does not reflect realistic exposure scenarios. The overall goal of the proposed project is to identify inflammation pathways during pregnancy that are potentially disrupted by environmental exposure to chemicals in consumer products, and to determine how distinct inflammatory pathways influence GWG. I propose to build on a representative subcohort (n=500) of the longitudinal LIFECODES pregnancy cohort. This proposal will support the measurement of a large set of proteins produced by immune cells and closely involved with inflammation processes. The immune-mediated proteins will be quantified in 3 maternal plasma samples collected across pregnancy (median 11, 24, and 34 weeks gestation) using a well-validated proteomic platform. The proposed research will also leverage the wealth of existing clinical, demographic, and environmental exposure data within the LIFECODES sub-cohort. Biomarker data on a large number of phthalates, phenols, and OPEs quantified in urine samples will provide unique longitudinal assessment of consumer product chemical exposures in pregnancy. Questionnaire and clinical records collected from pregnancy will provide details on sociodemographics.