engleski

Antioxidant enzymes and metallothionein in mother-newborn pairs exposed to cigarette smoke during pregnancy

Maternal cigarette smoking may impair the pro/antioxidant balance, affect bodily element disposition and disturb nutrient and oxygen transport to the developing foetus. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of active maternal smoking during pregnancy on superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities and metallothionein (MT), cadmium (Cd), and zinc (Zn) concentrations in the samples of maternal and cord blood and placenta of healthy mother-newborn pairs collected after term vaginal delivery. We compared results for non-smokers and smokers (n = 37 each), grouped based on cotinine urine levels as a biomarker of tobacco smoke exposure (<0.25 ng/mL in non-smokers and >100 ng/mL in active smokers). Activity of SOD was 14 % lower in maternal plasma, 91 % higher in placenta and 12 % lower in cord plasma of smokers compared to non-smokers, whereas GPx and MT did not differ between the groups. These results accompanied decreased maternal blood Zn and increased placental Zn in smokers who also had significantly higher Cd in maternal blood and placenta than non-smokers. Cord blood Cd was low and did not differ between the groups. Although active maternal smoking contributed to Cd levels in maternal blood and placenta and Zn in placenta, there was no induction of increased placental MT synthesis. Overexpression of placental SOD can increase the susceptibility of offspring to oxidative stress and risk of disease development, even later in life. The study was funded by the Croatian Science Foundation (grant HRZZ-IP-2016-06-1998).

cadmium exposure ; maternal blood ; placenta ; umbilical cord blood ; zinc

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