# Exposure to Zearalenone and its Impact on Maternal and Fetal Health

> **NIH NIH F31** · RUTGERS BIOMEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES · 2022 · $42,074

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Mycotoxin food contamination, potentially exacerbated by climate change, is a growing international concern.
The fungal metabolite, zearalenone (ZEN), is an endocrine-disrupting mycotoxin commonly found on plants such
as corn and grains grown in the temperate climate zone. Additionally, although banned in the European Union,
the synthetic derivative, zeranol, is administered to livestock in the U.S. making meat consumption an additional
source of U.S. exposure. Humans are exposed to ZEN and zeranol by ingesting contaminated grain-derived
products or products from animals fed contaminated diets. There is a large body of evidence on the prevalence
of ZEN and its metabolites in food products and in human biological fluids and exposure is expected to rise
further with climate change leading to warmer, wetter habitats. This widespread exposure is concerning given
that its chemical structure closely resembles 17β-estradiol (E2) which enables direct binding to nuclear estrogen
receptors α (ER-α) and β (ER-β). The ability of ZEN and its metabolites to bind to estrogen receptors earned
their designation as `mycoestrogens'. In vivo, substantial evidence demonstrates that mycoestrogens disrupt the
endocrine and reproductive systems in rats, mice, cows, and pigs, leading to adverse outcomes such as
hyperestrogenism, infertility, miscarriage, lower gestational weight gain, and reduced fetal size. In vitro evidence
further demonstrates that ZEN disrupts sex steroid hormone biosynthesis. Given the wide-ranging impact of
endocrine-disrupting effects in vivo and in vitro model systems and ubiquitous exposure to mycoestrogens
worldwide, humans studies are urgently needed. This project capitalizes on a prospective birth cohort study
(n=326) with biospecimen collection at each trimester, to examine the impact of mycoestrogen exposure on
maternal and fetal health outcomes. Laboratory assays to quantify mycoestrogens in maternal urine in each
trimester as well as term placenta are ongoing. We will use those data to translate the in vitro and animal
evidence that mycoestrogen exposure leads to reduced gestational weight gain, altered circulating hormone
levels and placental sex steroid expression, and smaller size at birth in humans. We will fit longitudinal regression
models to test the hypothesis that higher mycoestrogen concentrations are associated with decreased circulating
estrogens during pregnancy and reduced gestational weight gain. Linear models will inform on the impact of
ZEN on placental expression of steroidogenic markers including expression of estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1).
Finally, we will examine impacts of ZEN on infant size at birth. These studies will be valuable for risk assessment
and will inform public policy to reduce exposure among vulnerable populations (infants, children) or during
sensitive periods such as gestation.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10460821
- **Project number:** 1F31ES034269-01
- **Recipient organization:** RUTGERS BIOMEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES
- **Principal Investigator:** Carolyn Kinkade
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $42,074
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-01 → 2025-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10460821

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10460821, Exposure to Zearalenone and its Impact on Maternal and Fetal Health (1F31ES034269-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10460821. Licensed CC0.

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