Objective To explore the effects of prenatal polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) exposure on genome-wide mRNA expression, and to screen the major PAHs that make the largest contribution to variance of gene expression of fetus. Methods Seven carcinogenic PAHs in cord serum were detected using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)/fluorescence. Affymetrix microarray was used to test the variance of genome-wide mRNA expression of cord blood. The relationships of prenatal PAHs exposure and the expression level of cancer-related genes, and the contribution of prenatal PAHs exposure to variance of cancer-related genes expression were analyzed. Results Seven carcinogenic PAHs could be detected in about more than 70% of cord serum samples. 1847 genes were declared to be significantly differentially expressed among 5 groups with different PAHs levels and the tumor-related pathways predominated in the pathway-network. Significant correlationships between cord serum PAHs levels and mRNA expression levels of genes of SNRPN, RPL27A, BMP1, NUDT2, E2F1 and RAD54B were discovered (p<0.05). BbF had the most association with gene expression, and then were BkF and BaP. Conclusion Six cancer related genes can be identified as candidate target genes of prenatal PAHs exposure, and BbF, BkF and BaP were in the key position on affecting expression of the six cancer related genes.
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