The UNC Chapel Hill Superfund Research Program (UNC-SRP)

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PROJECT DESCRIPTION Summary: While prenatal exposure to environmental metals, such as inorganic arsenic, is associated with decreased gestational age, there is a fundamental knowledge gap regarding the placental molecular drivers of this association. Numerous epidemiological studies have associated exposure to individual environmental metals, such as inorganic arsenic and lead, with decreased gestational age. Often such studies analyze chemical exposures individually instead of in mixtures. This analytical approach does not reflect the fact that humans are exposed to complex mixtures of environmental chemicals that may have interactive or synergistic effects. Ignoring the possibility of these combined effects may obscure the full extent of the association between exposure to environmental metals and gestational age. This project will examine the association between exposure to environmental metals early in life and gestational age. The metals will be analyzed individually as well as a mixture. Subsequently, to identify biological mechanisms underlying this association, we will identify specific miRNAs and proteins within the placenta that may mediate the association between metal exposure and gestational age.