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,; 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,, Debra T. Silverman, Nathaniel Rothman, Yuxin Zheng, Qing Lan

^*Corresponding author for this work

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
Pages (from-to)	823-828
Number of pages	6
Journal	Occupational and environmental medicine
Volume	78
Issue number	11
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2021-107462
Publication status	Published - 1 Nov 2021
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

air pollution
cross-sectional studies
genetic predisposition to disease
indoor

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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. https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2021-107462

@article{ba32bcdb8a2a45d681d5ff624daeb94b,

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.",

keywords = "air pollution, cross-sectional studies, genetic predisposition to disease, indoor",

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 Ji, {Bu Tian} 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,, {H. Dean} and Silverman, {Debra T.} and Nathaniel Rothman and Yuxin Zheng and Qing Lan",

year = "2021",

month = nov,

day = "1",

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

language = "English",

volume = "78",

pages = "823--828",

journal = "Occupational and environmental medicine",

issn = "1351-0711",

publisher = "BMJ Publishing Group",

number = "11",

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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, BT, Fu, W, Xu, J, Meliefste, K, Zhou, B, Yang, J, Ren, D, Ye, M, Jia, X, Meng, T, Bin, P, Hosgood, 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, pp. 823-828. https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2021-107462

TY - JOUR

T1 - Elevated Alu retroelement copy number among workers exposed to diesel engine exhaust

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,, H. Dean

AU - Silverman, Debra T.

AU - Rothman, Nathaniel

AU - Zheng, Yuxin

AU - Lan, Qing

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.

AB - 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.

KW - air pollution

KW - cross-sectional studies

KW - genetic predisposition to disease

KW - indoor

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85106990507&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1136/oemed-2021-107462

DO - 10.1136/oemed-2021-107462

M3 - Article

C2 - 34039759

AN - SCOPUS:85106990507

SN - 1351-0711

VL - 78

SP - 823

EP - 828

JO - Occupational and environmental medicine

JF - Occupational and environmental medicine

IS - 11

ER -

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

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