Circulating immune/inflammation markers in Chinese workers occupationally exposed to formaldehyde

Wei Jie Seow, Luoping Zhang, Roel Vermeulen, Xiaojiang Tang, Wei Hu, Bryan A Bassig, Zhiying Ji, Meredith S Shiels, Troy J Kemp, Min Shen, Chuangyi Qiu, Boris Reiss, Laura E Beane Freeman, Aaron Blair, Christopher Kim, Weihong Guo, Cuiju Wen, Laiyu Li, Ligia A Pinto, Hanlin HuangMartyn T Smith, Allan Hildesheim, Nathaniel Rothman, Qing Lan

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

    Abstract

    BACKGROUND: Formaldehyde has been classified as a human myeloid leukemogen. However, the mechanistic basis for this association is still debated.

    OBJECTIVES: We aimed to evaluate whether circulating immune/inflammation markers were altered in workers occupationally exposed to formaldehyde.

    METHODS: Using a multiplexed bead-based assay, we measured serum levels of 38 immune/inflammation markers in a cross-sectional study of 43 formaldehyde-exposed and 51 unexposed factory workers in Guangdong, China. Linear regression models adjusting for potential confounders were used to compare marker levels in exposed and unexposed workers.

    RESULTS: We found significantly lower circulating levels of two markers among exposed factory workers compared with unexposed controls that remained significant after adjusting for potential confounders and multiple comparisons using a false discovery rate of 10%, including chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 11 (36.2 pg/ml in exposed versus 48.4 pg/ml in controls, P = 0.0008) and thymus and activation regulated chemokine (52.7 pg/ml in exposed versus 75.0 pg/ml in controls, P = 0.0028), suggesting immunosuppression among formaldehyde-exposed workers.

    CONCLUSIONS: Our findings are consistent with recently emerging understanding that immunosuppression might be associated with myeloid diseases. These findings, if replicated in a larger study, may provide insights into the mechanisms by which formaldehyde promotes leukemogenesis.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)852-857
    Number of pages6
    JournalCarcinogenesis
    Volume36
    Issue number8
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Aug 2015

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