POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBON-DNA ADDUCTS IN SPONTANEOUSLY ABORTED FETAL TISSUE

Fetal tissue and placentas from 15 human spontaneous abortions were evaluated for DNA adducts of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), using a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with fluorescent endpoint detection. PAH-derived adducts were found in 43% of placentas, 27% of fetal liver samples and 42% of fetal lung specimens, thus confirming that the human fetus is a target for DNA damage. As there was only 60% concordance between placenta and fetal lung or liver on the presence or absence of detectable PAH adducts, the placenta was not a good surrogate for adduct formation in other fetal organs. PAH-derlved adducts in fetal liver and lung presumably form as a result of transpiacental exposure to environmental stimuli. Since none of the positive fetal samples were from women who reported smoking during pregnancy, cigarette smoke is, in this case, an unilkely candhate and the adducts detected must be due to someother common source(s) of hydrocarbon exposure. The high frequency of positive samples in our small series casts some doubt on whether fetal PAH-DNA adducts identify a population at Increased risk for transplacental carcinogenesis. © 1990 Oxford University Press.