Abstract
Mercury (Hg) exposure is a public health concern due to its persistence in the environment and its high toxicity. Such toxicity has been associated with the generation of oxidative stress in occupationally exposed subjects, such as artisanal gold miners. In this study, we characterize occupational exposure to Hg by measuring blood, urine and hair levels, and investigate oxidative stress and DNA methylation associated with gold mining. To do this, samples from 53 miners and 36 controls were assessed. We show higher levels of oxidative stress marker 8-OHdG in the miners. Differences in LINE1 and Alu(Yb8) DNA methylation between gold miners and control group are present in peripheral blood leukocytes. LINE1 methylation is positively correlated with 8-OHdG levels, while XRCC1 and LINE1 methylation are positively correlated with Hg levels. These results suggest an effect of Hg on oxidative stress and DNA methylation in gold miners that may have an impact on miners’ health.
Highlights
Mercury (Hg) is a heavy metal with a known impact on the environment and on human health
Cumulative smoking habit within the smokers was higher for the gold miners, no significant differences were found when compared to the controls
Methylation changes in Alu and LINE1 repetitive elements and SOD2 and X-ray repair cross complementing 1 (XRCC1) promoters were found in miners’ blood
Summary
Mercury (Hg) is a heavy metal with a known impact on the environment and on human health. Some of the toxic effects of Hg are caused by increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), causing oxidative stress (Park and Zheng, 2012). It has been shown that Hg exposure inhibits antioxidant enzymes like glutathione-S-transferase (GST), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) (Martinez et al, 2014; Zeneli et al, 2016) increasing oxidative stress in the cell. Hg° is oxidized in the red blood cells and lungs to divalent inorganic cation (Hg+2), while inhalation of Hg° vapour mainly deposits in the kidney and brain (Park and Zheng, 2012). Hg exposure has become a major public health concern in developing countries due to the growing use of this metal, its persistence in the environment, and its high toxicity (Kristensen et al, 2014)
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