Exposure to smoky coal combustion emissions and leukocyte Alu retroelement copy number
Blechter, Batel; Wong, Jason Y Y; Hu, Wei; Cawthon, Richard; Downward, George S; Portengen, Lützen; Zhang, Yongliang; Ning, Bofu; Rahman, Mohammad L; Ji, Bu-Tian; Li, Jihua; Yang, Kaiyun; Hosgood, H Dean; Silverman, Debra T; Huang, Yunchao; Rothman, Nathaniel; Vermeulen, Roel; Lan, Qing
(2023) Carcinogenesis, volume 44, issue 5, pp. 404 - 410
(Article)
Abstract
Household air pollution (HAP) from indoor combustion of solid fuel is a global health burden that has been linked to multiple diseases including lung cancer. In Xuanwei, China, lung cancer rate for non-smoking women is among the highest in the world and largely attributed to high levels of polycyclic aromatic
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hydrocarbons (PAHs) that are produced from combustion of smoky (bituminous) coal. Alu retroelements, repetitive mobile DNA sequences that can somatically multiply and promote genomic instability have been associated with risk of lung cancer and diesel engine exhaust exposure. We conducted analyses for 160 non-smoking women in an exposure assessment study in Xuanwei, China with a repeat sample from 49 subjects. Quantitative PCR was used to measure Alu repeat copy number relative to albumin gene copy number (Alu/ALB ratio). Associations between clusters derived from predicted levels of 43 HAP constituents, 5-methylchrysene (5-MC), a PAH previously associated with lung cancer in Xuanwei and was selected a priori for analysis, and Alu repeats were analyzed using generalized estimating equations. A cluster of 31 PAHs reflecting current exposure was associated with increased Alu copy number (β:0.03 per standard deviation change; 95% confidence interval (CI):0.01,0.04; P-value = 2E-04). One compound within this cluster, 5-MC, was also associated with increased Alu copy number (P-value = 0.02). Our findings suggest that exposure to PAHs due to indoor smoky coal combustion may contribute to genomic instability. Additionally, our study provides further support for 5-MC as a prominent carcinogenic component of smoky coal emissions. Further studies are needed to replicate our findings.
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Keywords: Burning solid fuels, China, Dna methylation, Indoor air-pollution, Lung-cancer, Nitrogen-dioxide, Polycyclic aromatic-hydrocarbons, Repeats, Risk, Xuan-wei, Cancer Research
ISSN: 0143-3334
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Note: Funding Information: The study was supported by the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine, Beijing, China, by the Yunnan Province Antiepidemic Station, Kunming, China, and by contract 5D2290NFFX from the US Environmental Protection Agency. This study was also supported by the Intramural Research Program of the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health. Acknowledgements Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s).
(Peer reviewed)