Background: Exposure to arsenic via drinking water is a significant environmental issue affecting millions of people\r\naround the world. Exposure to arsenic during foetal development has been shown to impair somatic growth and\r\nincrease the risk of developing chronic respiratory diseases. The aim of this study was to determine if in utero\r\nexposure to low dose arsenic via drinking water is capable of altering lung growth and postnatal lung mechanics.\r\nMethods: Pregnant C57BL/6 mice were given drinking water containing 0, 10 (current World Health Organisation\r\n(WHO) maximum contaminant level) or 100�µg/L arsenic from gestational day 8 to birth. Birth outcomes and\r\nsomatic growth were monitored. Plethysmography and the forced oscillation technique were used to collect\r\nmeasurements of lung volume, lung mechanics, pressure-volume curves and the volume dependence of lung\r\nmechanics in male and female offspring at two, four, six and eight weeks of age.\r\nResults: In utero exposure to low dose arsenic via drinking water resulted in low birth weight and impaired\r\nparenchymal lung mechanics during infancy. Male offspring were more susceptible to the effects of arsenic on\r\ngrowth and lung mechanics than females. All alterations to lung mechanics following in utero arsenic exposure\r\nwere recovered by adulthood.\r\nConclusions: Exposure to arsenic at the current WHO maximum contaminant level in utero impaired somatic\r\ngrowth and the development of the lungs resulting in alterations to lung mechanics during infancy. Deficits in\r\ngrowth and lung development in early life may contribute to the increased susceptibility of developing chronic\r\nrespiratory disease in arsenic exposed human populations
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