Translocation of (ultra)fine particles and nanoparticles across the placenta; a systematic review on the evidence of in
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(2020) 17:56
REVIEW
Open Access
Translocation of (ultra)fine particles and nanoparticles across the placenta; a systematic review on the evidence of in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo studies Eva Bongaerts1, Tim S. Nawrot1,2, Thessa Van Pee1, Marcel Ameloot3 and Hannelore Bové1,3*
Abstract Fetal development is a crucial window of susceptibility in which exposure may lead to detrimental health outcomes at birth and later in life. The placenta serves as a gatekeeper between mother and fetus. Knowledge regarding the barrier capacity of the placenta for nanoparticles is limited, mostly due to technical obstacles and ethical issues. We systematically summarize and discuss the current evidence and define knowledge gaps concerning the maternal-fetal transport and fetoplacental accumulation of (ultra)fine particles and nanoparticles. We included 73 studies on placental translocation of particles, of which 21 in vitro/ex vivo studies, 50 animal studies, and 2 human studies on transplacental particle transfer. This systematic review shows that (i) (ultra)fine particles and engineered nanoparticles can bypass the placenta and reach fetal units as observed for all the applied models irrespective of the species origin (i.e., rodent, rabbit, or human) or the complexity (i.e., in vitro, ex vivo, or in vivo), (ii) particle size, particle material, dose, particle dissolution, gestational stage of the model, and surface composition influence maternal-fetal translocation, and (iii) no simple, standardized method for nanoparticle detection and/or quantification in biological matrices is available to date. Existing evidence, research gaps, and perspectives of maternal-fetal particle transfer are highlighted. Keywords: Engineered, (ultra)fine particles, Nanoparticles, Pregnancy, Placenta, Maternal-fetal transfer
Background Pregnant women and developing embryos/fetuses comprise a particularly vulnerable population, as nanoparticles (NPs) that infiltrate the bloodstream may reach the placenta and possibly the fetus [1]. Such in utero exposure may not only influence fetal development and induce adverse pregnancy outcomes, but it can also adversely affect health in later life since the etiology of * Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Centre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Agoralaan Building D, 3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium 3 Biomedical Research Institute, Hasselt University, Agoralaan Building C, 3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
diseases in adulthood may have a fetal origin [2], as postulated in the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease hypothesis [3]. Various epidemiological studies identified associations between prenatal exposure to (ultra)fine particles and adverse health outcomes (i) at birth including an increased risk of low birth weight (< 2500 g) [4, 5] and preterm birth (< 37 weeks of gestation) [6, 7], and (ii) later in life such as cardiovascular disease [8, 9], respiratory problems [10, 11], and neurodevelopmental alterations [12, 13]. (
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