Host: The Japanese Society of Toxicology
Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic environmental pollutant. Recently, it was reported that maternal blood Cd levels during pregnancy are positively associated with the risk of early preterm birth. It might be caused by Cd-induced hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) via inhibition of trophoblast differentiation. Here, we showed that Cd inhibited the induction of several cell differentiation markers in human trophoblast stem cell models and BeWo choriocarcinoma cells. These results suggest that Cd causes HDP through the disorder of the placental formation process.
