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The aquaglyceroporin AQP9 contributes to the sex-specific effects of in utero arsenic exposure on placental gene expression

Overview of attention for article published in Environmental Health, June 2017
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Title
The aquaglyceroporin AQP9 contributes to the sex-specific effects of in utero arsenic exposure on placental gene expression
Published in
Environmental Health, June 2017
DOI 10.1186/s12940-017-0267-8
Pubmed ID
Authors

Emily F. Winterbottom, Devin C. Koestler, Dennis Liang Fei, Eric Wika, Anthony J. Capobianco, Carmen J. Marsit, Margaret R. Karagas, David J. Robbins

Abstract

Sex-specific factors play a major role in human health and disease, including responses to environmental stresses such as toxicant exposure. Increasing evidence suggests that such sex differences also exist during fetal development. In a previous report using the resources of the New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study (NHBCS), we found that low-to-moderate in utero exposure to arsenic, a highly toxic and widespread pollutant, was associated with altered expression of several key developmental genes in the fetal portion of the placenta. These associations were sex-dependent, suggesting that in utero arsenic exposure differentially impacts male and female fetuses. In the present study, we investigated the molecular basis for these sex-specific responses to arsenic. Using NanoString technology, we further analyzed the fetal placenta samples from the NHBCS for the expression of genes encoding arsenic transporters and metabolic enzymes. Multivariable linear regression analysis was used to examine their relationship with arsenic exposure and with key developmental genes, after stratification by fetal sex. We found that maternal arsenic exposure was strongly associated with expression of the AQP9 gene, encoding an aquaglyceroporin transporter, in female but not male fetal placenta. Moreover, AQP9 expression associated with that of a subset of female-specific arsenic-responsive genes. Our results suggest that AQP9 is upregulated in response to arsenic exposure in female, but not male, fetal placenta. Based on these results and prior studies, increased AQP9 expression may lead to increased arsenic transport in the female fetal placenta, which in turn may alter the expression patterns of key developmental genes that we have previously shown to be associated with arsenic exposure. Thus, this study suggests that AQP9 may play a role in the sex-specific effects of in utero arsenic exposure.

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Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 23 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 23 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Ph. D. Student 6 26%
Student > Master 5 22%
Student > Bachelor 3 13%
Lecturer > Senior Lecturer 1 4%
Researcher 1 4%
Other 1 4%
Unknown 6 26%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Medicine and Dentistry 4 17%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 4 17%
Nursing and Health Professions 2 9%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 2 9%
Environmental Science 1 4%
Other 2 9%
Unknown 8 35%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 21 June 2017.
All research outputs
#18,555,330
of 22,981,247 outputs
Outputs from Environmental Health
#1,270
of 1,500 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#242,185
of 317,509 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Environmental Health
#34
of 40 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 22,981,247 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 11th percentile – i.e., 11% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 1,500 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 31.5. This one is in the 10th percentile – i.e., 10% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
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