Project 2: Investigating the role of PAH exposures associated with superfund site proximity in preterm birth etiology through placental transcriptomics and metagenomics

与早产(PTB)相关的围产期发病率和死亡率的负担令人震惊。研究表明， 暴露在环境中会增加肺结核的易感性。致因的认定 肺结核的病因学对改善全球妇幼健康至关重要。我们的初步数据显示 接触多环芳烃(PAHs)与肺结核有关。我们已经报告了这种接近 到哈里斯县的超级基金网站与非常低的出生体重有关，我们的研究显示 PTBS胎盘中多环芳烃水平与足月分娩的比较，特别是居住在Superfund附近的妇女 网站。在这项提案中，我们将深入研究肺结核背后的分子基础和特定的 通过使用我们已建立的转录和表观基因组管道对多环芳烃的环境暴露。我们 将利用我们现成的血清和胎盘样本，这些样本来自以人群为基础的、结核病丰富的人群 一群人。此外，将利用地统计建模来确定整个哈里斯地区的PTB聚集群 县里。我们研究的中心假设是，接触多环芳烃与 PTB率增加，转录组和表观基因组学将产生容易翻译的机制 关于这种关联的信息，以及地统计建模将揭示在接近的地方增加的PTB集群 哈里斯县的超级基金网站。

The burden of perinatal morbidity and mortality related to preterm birth (PTB) is astounding. Studies show that environmental exposures contribute to an increased susceptibility to PTB. Identification of the causative etiology of PTB is essential to improving global maternal and child health. Our preliminary data reveal that exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is associated with PTB. We have reported that proximity to Superfund sites in Harris County is associated with very low birth weight, and our studies reveal higher levels of PAHs in placentas from PTBs compared to term births specifically in women residing near Superfund sites. In this proposal we will delve into the molecular underpinnings behind PTB and the specific environmental exposures of PAHs through use of our established transcriptomic and epigenomic pipelines. We will leverage our readily available serum and placental samples from a population based and PTB enriched cohort. Furthermore, geostatistical modeling will be utilized to identify clusters of PTB throughout Harris County. Our central hypothesis underlying our research is that PAH exposures are associated with an increased rate of PTB, that transcriptomics and epigenomics will yield readily translatable mechanistic information on this association, and geostatistical modeling will reveal increased clusters of PTB in proximity to Superfund sites in Harris County.