Response to Comments on Zheng et al. "Association between Promoter Methylation of Gene ERCC3 and Benzene Hematotoxicity" Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14, 1393.

Caihong Xing,Min Zheng

doi:10.3390/ijerph14121529

Abstract

We would like to thank Moshammer and Poteser for their comments [...].

Highlights

Regarding whether the methylation pattern is specific for benzene, Bollati et al [1] found the hypomethylation of melanoma antigen-1 (MAGE-1) cancer associated antigen gene and hypermethylation in p15 in workers exposed to benzene
We reported downregulation of p15 and p16 expressions were associated with DNA promoter hypermethylation in benzene poisoning (BP) patients [2]
Induction of hypomethylation had been demonstrated to be induced by benzene metabolite hydroquinone in vitro in TK6 cells [3]. These findings show that benzene exposure may induce aberrant methylation patterns which were found in malignant cells and suggested that these epigenetic alterations may be another possible mechanism of transcriptional dysregulation underlying the leukemogenicity of benzene

Summary

Introduction

Regarding whether the methylation pattern is specific for benzene, Bollati et al [1] found the hypomethylation of melanoma antigen-1 (MAGE-1) cancer associated antigen gene and hypermethylation in p15 in workers exposed to benzene. We reported downregulation of p15 and p16 expressions were associated with DNA promoter hypermethylation in benzene poisoning (BP) patients [2]. Induction of hypomethylation had been demonstrated to be induced by benzene metabolite hydroquinone in vitro in TK6 cells [3].

Results

Conclusion