Elevated Alu retroelement copy number among workers exposed to diesel engine exhaust

Jason Y Y Wong; Richard Cawthon; Yufei Dai; Roel Vermeulen; Bryan A Bassig; Wei Hu; Huawei Duan; Yong Niu; George S Downward; Shuguang Leng; Bu-Tian Ji; Wei Fu; Jun Xu; Kees Meliefste; Baosen Zhou; Jufang Yang; Dianzhi Ren; Meng Ye; Xiaowei Jia; Tao Meng; Ping Bin; H Dean Hosgood Iii; Debra T Silverman; Nathaniel Rothman; Yuxin Zheng; Qing Lan

doi:10.1136/oemed-2021-107462

Elevated Alu retroelement copy number among workers exposed to diesel engine exhaust

Jason Y Y Wong, Richard Cawthon, Yufei Dai, Roel Vermeulen, Bryan A Bassig, Wei Hu, Huawei Duan, Yong Niu, George S Downward, Shuguang Leng, Bu-Tian Ji, Wei Fu, Jun Xu, Kees Meliefste, Baosen Zhou, Jufang Yang, Dianzhi Ren, Meng Ye, Xiaowei Jia, Tao MengPing Bin, H Dean Hosgood Iii, Debra T Silverman, Nathaniel Rothman, Yuxin Zheng, Qing Lan

IRAS OH Epidemiology Chemical Agents

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

A cross-sectional study of 54 male diesel engine exhaust (DEE)-exposed workers from an engine testing facility and a comparison group of 55 male unexposed controls was conducted in China. The association between occupational setting with high DEE exposure levels and Alu repeat copy number was investigated. Alu retroelements are repetitive DNA sequences that can multiply and compromise genomic stability. There is some evidence linking altered Alu repeats to cancer and elevated mortality risks. Personal air samples were assessed for elemental carbon, a DEE surrogate, using NIOSH Method 5040. Quantitative PCR was used to measure Alu repeat copy number relative to albumin (Alb) single-gene copy number in leucocyte DNA. DEE-exposed workers had a higher average Alu/Alb ratio than the unexposed controls. A positive exposure–response relationship (p=0.02) was observed. The Alu/Alb ratio was highest among workers exposed to the top tertile of DEE versus the unexposed controls. These findings suggest that DEE exposure may contribute to genomic instability.

Original language	English
Article number	107462
Pages (from-to)	823-828
Number of pages	6
Journal	Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Volume	78
Issue number	11
Early online date	26 May 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2021-107462
Publication status	Published - 1 Nov 2021

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

Funding Information:
Funding This work was supported by intramural funds from the National Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health (Project: 1ZIACP010120-24) and the Key Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China.

Keywords

air pollution
cross-sectional studies
genetic predisposition to disease
indoor

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1136/oemed-2021-107462

823.fullFinal published version, 646 KBLicence: Taverne

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Wong, J. Y. Y., Cawthon, R., Dai, Y., Vermeulen, R., Bassig, B. A., Hu, W., Duan, H., Niu, Y., Downward, G. S., Leng, S., Ji, B.-T., Fu, W., Xu, J., Meliefste, K., Zhou, B., Yang, J., Ren, D., Ye, M., Jia, X., ... Lan, Q. (2021). Elevated Alu retroelement copy number among workers exposed to diesel engine exhaust. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 78(11), 823-828. Article 107462. https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2021-107462

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title = "Elevated Alu retroelement copy number among workers exposed to diesel engine exhaust",

abstract = "A cross-sectional study of 54 male diesel engine exhaust (DEE)-exposed workers from an engine testing facility and a comparison group of 55 male unexposed controls was conducted in China. The association between occupational setting with high DEE exposure levels and Alu repeat copy number was investigated. Alu retroelements are repetitive DNA sequences that can multiply and compromise genomic stability. There is some evidence linking altered Alu repeats to cancer and elevated mortality risks. Personal air samples were assessed for elemental carbon, a DEE surrogate, using NIOSH Method 5040. Quantitative PCR was used to measure Alu repeat copy number relative to albumin (Alb) single-gene copy number in leucocyte DNA. DEE-exposed workers had a higher average Alu/Alb ratio than the unexposed controls. A positive exposure–response relationship (p=0.02) was observed. The Alu/Alb ratio was highest among workers exposed to the top tertile of DEE versus the unexposed controls. These findings suggest that DEE exposure may contribute to genomic instability.",

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author = "Wong, {Jason Y Y} and Richard Cawthon and Yufei Dai and Roel Vermeulen and Bassig, {Bryan A} and Wei Hu and Huawei Duan and Yong Niu and Downward, {George S} and Shuguang Leng and Bu-Tian Ji and Wei Fu and Jun Xu and Kees Meliefste and Baosen Zhou and Jufang Yang and Dianzhi Ren and Meng Ye and Xiaowei Jia and Tao Meng and Ping Bin and {Hosgood Iii}, {H Dean} and Silverman, {Debra T} and Nathaniel Rothman and Yuxin Zheng and Qing Lan",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ. Funding Information: Funding This work was supported by intramural funds from the National Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health (Project: 1ZIACP010120-24) and the Key Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China.",

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month = nov,

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doi = "10.1136/oemed-2021-107462",

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Wong, JYY, Cawthon, R, Dai, Y, Vermeulen, R, Bassig, BA, Hu, W, Duan, H, Niu, Y, Downward, GS, Leng, S, Ji, B-T, Fu, W, Xu, J, Meliefste, K, Zhou, B, Yang, J, Ren, D, Ye, M, Jia, X, Meng, T, Bin, P, Hosgood Iii, HD, Silverman, DT, Rothman, N, Zheng, Y & Lan, Q 2021, 'Elevated Alu retroelement copy number among workers exposed to diesel engine exhaust', Occupational and Environmental Medicine, vol. 78, no. 11, 107462, pp. 823-828. https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2021-107462

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AU - Wong, Jason Y Y

AU - Cawthon, Richard

AU - Dai, Yufei

AU - Vermeulen, Roel

AU - Bassig, Bryan A

AU - Hu, Wei

AU - Duan, Huawei

AU - Niu, Yong

AU - Downward, George S

AU - Leng, Shuguang

AU - Ji, Bu-Tian

AU - Fu, Wei

AU - Xu, Jun

AU - Meliefste, Kees

AU - Zhou, Baosen

AU - Yang, Jufang

AU - Ren, Dianzhi

AU - Ye, Meng

AU - Jia, Xiaowei

AU - Meng, Tao

AU - Bin, Ping

AU - Hosgood Iii, H Dean

AU - Silverman, Debra T

AU - Rothman, Nathaniel

AU - Zheng, Yuxin

AU - Lan, Qing

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ. Funding Information: Funding This work was supported by intramural funds from the National Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health (Project: 1ZIACP010120-24) and the Key Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China.

PY - 2021/11/1

Y1 - 2021/11/1

N2 - A cross-sectional study of 54 male diesel engine exhaust (DEE)-exposed workers from an engine testing facility and a comparison group of 55 male unexposed controls was conducted in China. The association between occupational setting with high DEE exposure levels and Alu repeat copy number was investigated. Alu retroelements are repetitive DNA sequences that can multiply and compromise genomic stability. There is some evidence linking altered Alu repeats to cancer and elevated mortality risks. Personal air samples were assessed for elemental carbon, a DEE surrogate, using NIOSH Method 5040. Quantitative PCR was used to measure Alu repeat copy number relative to albumin (Alb) single-gene copy number in leucocyte DNA. DEE-exposed workers had a higher average Alu/Alb ratio than the unexposed controls. A positive exposure–response relationship (p=0.02) was observed. The Alu/Alb ratio was highest among workers exposed to the top tertile of DEE versus the unexposed controls. These findings suggest that DEE exposure may contribute to genomic instability.

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KW - cross-sectional studies

KW - genetic predisposition to disease

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Elevated Alu retroelement copy number among workers exposed to diesel engine exhaust

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

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