Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39778256›Full record

ReviewPlacenta2025

Arsenic and the placenta: A review with emphasis on the immune system.

Kristal A Rychlik, Emily J Illingworth, Fenna C M Sillé

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Placenta, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Kristal A RychlikPublic Health Program, School of Health Professions, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, USA; Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA.
Emily J IllingworthJohns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA; iQ Biosciences, Alameda, CA, USA.
Fenna C M SilléJohns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA. Electronic address: fsille1@jhu.edu.

Funding

Traning Program in Environmental Health SciencesT32ES007141 · NIEHS · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI Marsha Wills-Karp · 1985 to 2026
$22.2M
Pilot Project ProgramP30ES032756 · NIEHS · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI Marsha Wills-Karp · 2022 to 2026
$6.0M
Long-term Effects of Early-Life Arsenic Exposure on ImmunityR00ES024808 · NIEHS · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI SILLE, FENNA · 2017 to 2019
$838k
NIEHS NIH HHS P30 ES032756NIEHS NIH HHS R00 ES024808NIEHS NIH HHS T32 ES007141
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Chronic arsenic exposure affects over 140 million people globally. While arsenic easily crosses the placenta, the specific mechanisms impacting placental immune cell populations and fetal health are unclear. Maternal arsenic exposure is epidemiologically linked to increased infection risk, mortality, and cancer susceptibility in offspring, emphasizing the importance of understanding placentally-mediated immune effects. This review explores the potential role of the placenta, a key organ for immune transfer to the developing fetus, in mediating chronic low-dose arsenic exposure effects. Examining three potential pathways-direct contaminant transfer, altered immune transfer from the mother, and indirect impact on fetal immune programming via maternal and placental signaling-the review highlights studies associating maternal arsenic levels with immune-related outcomes, including changes in cord blood T cell populations and increased placental inflammation. Placental gene expression analysis reveals alterations in pathways related to oxidative stress, proteasome activity, and aquaglyceroporin transporter expression. Impact on placental DNA methylation and microRNA regulation as well as on trophoblast dysfunction is discussed, with evidence suggesting inhibited trophoblast migration and placental growth factor expression. The complexity of mixtures, nutrition, and environmental interactions add challenges to investigating the placenta's role in immune programming. Despite inconsistent findings on placental morphology alterations, evidence suggests a potential link between arsenic exposure, placental anomalies, and adverse birth outcomes. Further research is crucial to comprehend the effects of prenatal arsenic exposure on trophoblasts, placental immune cells, and subsequent long-term consequences for fetal immune development and birth outcomes.

Indexed as

ArsenicImmune SystemPlacentaAnimalsFemaleHumansMaternal ExposureMaternal-Fetal ExchangePregnancyArsenic

Identifiers

PMID39778256
PMCPMC11927389

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.