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Oral Concurrent Session 1 - Equity, Public Health, and Policy

Oral Concurrent Sessions

Oral Concurrent Session 1 - Equity, Public Health, and Policy

(17) Elevated micro- and nanoplastics detected in preterm human placentae

Thursday, January 30, 2025
3:30 PM – 3:45 PM  
Location: Aurora Ballroom A, Lobby Level

    Submitting Author and Presenting Author(s)

  • Enrico R. Barrozo, PhD

    Assistant Professor
    Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital
    Houston, Texas, United States

    • Coauthor(s)

  • MG

    Marcus A. Garcia, Pharm D

    University of New Mexico
    Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States

  • Michael D. Jochum, Jr., PhD

    Assistant Professor
    Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital
    Houston, Texas, United States

  • RL

    Rui Liu

    University of New Mexico
    Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States

  • AN

    Alex Nihart

    University of New Mexico
    Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States

  • EC

    Eliseo Castillo, PhD

    University of New Mexico
    Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States

  • EE

    Eliane El Hayek, PhD

    University of New Mexico
    Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States

  • JG

    Jorge Gonzalez-Estrella, PhD

    Oklahoma State University
    Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States

  • LS

    Lori Showalter, BS

    Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital
    Houston, Texas, United States

  • CS

    Cynthia Shope, MA, MS

    Lab Manager
    Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital
    Houston, Texas, United States

  • Melissa A. Suter, PhD

    Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital
    Houston, Texas, United States

  • MC

    Matthew J. Campen, PhD

    University of New Mexico
    Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States

  • Kjersti M. Aagaard, MD, PhD

    Medical Director, HCA Healthcare and HCA Research Institute
    Boston Children’s Hospital, Division of Fetal Medicine and Surgery, Boston, MA; HCA Healthcare and HCA Healthcare Research Institute, Nashville, TN; HCA Texas Maternal Fetal Medicine, Houston, TX; Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX
    Tomball, Texas, United States

Objective: We and others recently demonstrated the widespread presence of micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) in the environment and their documented absorption by humans, with deposition and bioaccumulation in the placenta. In the current study, we aimed to test the hypothesis that placental MNP concentrations and species differ between term and preterm birth.

Study Design:

We analyzed human placentae collected at term (n=100) and preterm (< 37 weeks gestation; n=75). Placental specimens were subjected to pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) to quantify twelve types of MNPs: polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polycarbonate (PC), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethane (PU), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), nylon 6 (N6), and nylon 66 (N66). For rigor & reproducibility, duplicate specimens were run & quantified relative to standards.

Results:

Highly sensitive Py-GC/MS demonstrated significantly higher levels of PC, PVC & N66 MNPs in preterm placentae compared to term (Fig 1A; q=0.002, 0.006, 0.013, respectively, by mixed-effects model with Sidak’s multiple corrections). Moreover, despite shorter gestations, cumulative MNP concentrations were higher in preterm placentae (Fig 1B; preterm mean 203.0 µg/g tissue ± 19.41 SEM vs term mean 129.8 µg/g tissue ± 14.16 SEM, p< 0.0001 Mann-Whitney). Stratified analyses showed significant differences by fetal sex (Fig 1C) and race/ethnicity (Fig 2A) (q< 0.05), and a significant correlation between social deprivation indices (SDI) and MNP levels (Fig 2B). Total MNP levels in placentae were 121.9 times higher than those reported in human blood (p< 0.0001 Mann-Whitney).

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that MNPs accumulate in placentae from preterm births. Given the established link between MNPs and inflammation, we speculate that MNP bioaccumulation may play a role in modulating inflammatory preterm birth. These novel findings underscore the importance of prioritizing mechanistic studies to explore how MNPs impact fetal development and pregnancy outcomes.