Vulnerability of the placenta to air pollution: what effects on the unborn child’s development?
A research team from Inserm and Université Grenoble Alpes investigated the potential effects on placental DNA of exposure to three major airborne pollutants. When comparing the data obtained from around 1 500 pregnant women, it observed that exposure to these pollutants during pregnancy was associated with epigenetic changes liable to alter the development of the foetus, particularly at the metabolic, immune and neurological levels.