Epidemiological investigations have found that air fine particulate matter (PM) exposure not only causes respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in adults and children, but also affects embryonic development during pregnancy, leading to poor pregnancy outcomes. However, its exact molecular mechanism is still unclear. In this study, human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) were treated with PM at different concentrations then the morphology and proliferation capacity were measured. The mRNA and protein expression of NANOG and OCT4 were detected using quantitative PCR, immunofluorescence, western blotting, and flow cytometry. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and AKT/ERK activation were also measured. Meanwhile, changes in ROS, the expression of NANOG, OCT4, and the AKT/ERK pathways were measured in the hESCs with or without pretreatment of ROS scavenger N-acetylcysteine (NAC) prior to PM exposure. After PM exposure, the proliferation capacity and expression of OCT4 and NANOG at the mRNA and protein levels were downregulated. The ROS level in the hESCs increased after PM exposure, but this increase in ROS was attenuated by pretreatment with NAC. Further analysis showed that the levels of phosphorylated AKT and ERK increased after PM exposure. After pretreatment with NAC, the phosphorylation levels of AKT and ERK, which are crucial for regulating the proliferation, pluripotency, and differentiation of hESC, were significantly attenuated compared with the non-NAC pretreated exposure group. These results suggest that PM exposure may reduce the proliferation and pluripotency of hESC through ROS-mediated AKT/ERK pathways, thereby affecting the long-term development of embryos.

流行病学调查发现，空气细颗粒物（PM）暴露不仅会导致成人和儿童的呼吸道和心血管疾病，还会影响怀孕期间的胚胎发育，导致妊娠结局不佳。然而，其确切的分子机制仍不清楚。在这项研究中，人类胚胎干细胞 (hESCs) 用不同浓度的 PM 处理，然后测量其形态和增殖能力。使用定量PCR、免疫荧光、蛋白质印迹和流式细胞术检测NANOG和OCT4的mRNA和蛋白表达。还测量了活性氧 (ROS) 生成和 AKT/ERK 活化。同时，ROS、NANOG、OCT4、在暴露于 PM 之前，在有或没有 ROS 清除剂 N-乙酰半胱氨酸 (NAC) 预处理的 hESC 中测量 AKT/ERK 通路。PM 暴露后，OCT4 和 NANOG 在 mRNA 和蛋白质水平的增殖能力和表达下调。暴露于 PM 后 hESC 中的 ROS 水平增加，但这种增加的 ROS 被 NAC 预处理减弱。进一步分析表明，PM 暴露后磷酸化 AKT 和 ERK 水平升高。在用 NAC 预处理后，与非 NAC 预处理的暴露组相比，对调节 hESC 的增殖、多能性和分化至关重要的 AKT 和 ERK 的磷酸化水平显着减弱。