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. 2024 Jun 5;25(11):6215.
doi: 10.3390/ijms25116215.

Potential Effects of Low-Level Toluene Exposure on the Nervous System of Mothers and Infants

So Yeon Yu  1 , Seung Hwan Kim  2 , Jeong Hyeop Choo  3 , Sehun Jang  4 , Jihyun Kim  4   5 , Kangmo Ahn  4   5 , Seung Yong Hwang  6   7
Affiliations

Potential Effects of Low-Level Toluene Exposure on the Nervous System of Mothers and Infants

So Yeon Yu et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

In day-to-day living, individuals are exposed to various environmentally hazardous substances that have been associated with diverse diseases. Exposure to air pollutants can occur during breathing, posing a considerable risk to those with environmental health vulnerabilities. Among vulnerable individuals, maternal exposure can negatively impact the mother and child in utero. The developing fetus is particularly vulnerable to environmentally hazardous substances, with potentially greater implications. Among air pollutants, toluene is neurotoxic, and its effects have been widely explored. However, the impact of low-level toluene exposure in daily life remains unclear. Herein, we evaluated 194 mothers and infants from the Growing children's health and Evaluation of Environment (GREEN) cohort to determine the possible effects of early-life toluene exposure on the nervous system. Using Omics experiments, the effects of toluene were confirmed based on epigenetic changes and altered mRNA expression. Various epigenetic changes were identified, with upregulated expression potentially contributing to diseases such as glioblastoma and Alzheimer's, and downregulated expression being associated with structural neuronal abnormalities. These findings were detected in both maternal and infant groups, suggesting that maternal exposure to environmental hazardous substances can negatively impact the fetus. Our findings will facilitate the establishment of environmental health policies, including the management of environmentally hazardous substances for vulnerable groups.

Keywords: GREEN cohort; epigenetics; mRNA expression; maternal exposure; nervous system; toluene.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Gene interaction network map of each group. (A) Maternal group and (B) infant group. This network is composed of the top network, and was analyzed using the QIAGEN Ingenuity Pathway Analysis program.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(A) Summary of retinoic acid (RA) signaling pathway. (B) Summary of RA signaling pathway following toluene exposure. In general, RA is metabolized by retinaldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (RALDH2) and plays a role in neuronal differentiation, development, and plasticity. However, toluene exposure downregulates RALDH2 (ALDH1A2) expression owing to methylation, which hinders RA metabolism and activation; this, in turn, may negatively impact neuronal differentiation, development, and plasticity. Figure created using BioRender (https://biorender.com/, accessed on 3 April 2024).
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