Transplacental transfer of environmental genotoxins - Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-albumin in nonsmoking women

Transplacental transfer of genotoxic material has been determined by measuring the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-albumin adduct level in serum isolated from the mother and the umbilical cord blood using a competitive enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assay (ELISA) and the antibody (8E11) against benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) tetrols. Smoking women (median=5.54 fmol B[a]P Eq/mu g albumin, n=21 cases) and nonsmoking women living in rural areas (median=4.99; n=30) had higher adduct levels than nonsmoking women living in suburbia (median=4.09; n=37), whereas nonsmoking women living in the city of Aarhus had an intermediate level (median=4.82; n=40). The median adduct level in umbilical cord blood was significantly lower than in maternal blood, the maternal/fetal ratio being approximately 1.3. A positive association between the adduct levels in the mother and umbilical cord blood was observed. This study indicates that the competitive ELISA to detect B[a]P bound to serum albumin is sensitive enough to detect differences in the burden of genotoxic compounds in nonoccupationally exposed individuals. The lower adduct level in people living in suburbia suggests that local production of incomplete combustion products, like vehicle exhaust or heat generation, is a contributing factor of genotoxic compounds in the general environment.