Lead (Pb) exposure induces disturbances in epigenetic status in workers exposed to this metal

Abstract

Previous studies showed that lead (Pb) exposure may modulate gene expression by changes in the epigenetic status. However, little is known about the impact of Pb exposure and alterations on DNA methylation patterns in humans exposed to this metal. The aim of this study was to assess the consequences of exposure to Pb on DNA global methylation, in order to gain a better understanding of the interactions between Pb exposure and epigenetic effects. The study included 100 male workers employed in automotive battery factories from Paraná State, Brazil. Concentrations of Pb in blood (B-Pb) and plasma (P-Pb) were determined by ICP-MS, the percentage (%) of global DNA methylation was determined by quantification of 5-methylcytosine using indirect ELISA, and sociodemographic data collected by questionnaire by trained interviewers. The mean age was 37 ± 10 (18-67 years); 18% of participants were smokers, while 32% reported consumption of alcoholic beverages. The B-Pb and P-Pb levels were 20 ± 11 and 0.56 ± 0.64 µg/dl, respectively; % global DNA methylation was 2.8 ± 1.1% (ranging from 1.1 to 6.5%). B-Pb and P-Pb concentrations were significantly correlated. Furthermore, a marked association was noted between Pb biomarkers and DNA global methylation. Taken together, our data demonstrated that Pb exposure induced alterations on DNA global methylation in workers who were exposed to the metal and consequently may result in disturbances in the regulation of gene expression, leading to potentially several health adverse effect outcomes.

Evaluation of DNA Methylation Changes and Micronuclei in Workers Exposed to a Construction Environment

“…Recent studies have demonstrated that exposure to metals could be associated with changes in epigenetic status [41,42]. Surprisingly, our findings concerning the levels of trace elements in blood from the construction workers and control group using ICP-MS analysis revealed that the means were higher in the control than in the construction workers group.…”

Analysis of disease profile, and medical burden by lead exposure from hospital information systems in China

“…Compared with the blood Pb levels reported in previous research targeting occupational populations [4], children [3], or adults [16], Chinese patients as a whole, reported the lowest Pb levels, which to some extent represents conditions of residence throughout China. The findings may also be attributed to differences in the age structures of all the subjects.…”

“…Though laws were enforced rigorously to remove the use of Pb sources in commercial, and industrial sectors, in China, Pb exposure continues to be an important risk factor, affecting almost every organ, and system in the human body [2]. The current mass epidemiological investigations mainly focused on occupational Pb poisoning, or childhood Pb exposure [3, 4]. In recent years, medical big data has made it possible to identify the association of Pb exposure with disease profile based on the massive/large sample size of cross-sectional studies.…”

Caffeic acid and chlorogenic acid cytotoxicity, genotoxicity and impact on global DNA methylation in human leukemic cell lines

“…Analysis of global DNA methylation revealed that non-treated HL-60 and Jurkat cells exhibited 2.3% and 2.9% of 5-mC DNA, respectively. The 5-mC levels in primary human fibroblasts ranged from 1.0% to 1.7% ( Maierhofer et al , 2017 ), while the mean 5-mC level was 2.8% in peripheral blood of 100 male workers employed in automotive battery factories ( Devoz et al , 2017 ), 3.82% in leukocytes from 390 volunteers with no known cancer ( Shen et al. , 2017 ), and 2.28% in non-treated LNCaP human prostate cancer cells in vitro ( Wu et al , 2017 ).…”