Fine particle exposure during pregnancy is linked to an increase in circulating levels of PCSK9, a protein responsible for regulating "bad" LDL cholesterol, resulting in a lower gestational age at birth and an increased risk of caesarean section. Chiara Macchi, researcher at the Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences of the University of Milan, member of the research group directed by Alberto Corsini and Massimiliano Ruscica of the Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, who availed himself for this study of the cooperation with the group controlled by Valentina Bollati and Nicola Persico, professors of the Department of Clinical and Community Sciences of the University of Milan, coordinated the research that led to these results. It was published in Environment International and recently earned a scholarship as part of the Prix Galien Italian 2022, a 70s-era French program aimed at encouraging pharmaceutical innovation and scientific research that is currently in its 30th season.