TY - JOUR
T1 - Blood lead levels in Peruvian adults are associated with proximity to mining and DNA methylation
AU - Childebayeva, Ainash
AU - Goodrich, Jaclyn M.
AU - Chesterman, Nathan
AU - Leon-Velarde, Fabiola
AU - Rivera-Ch, Maria
AU - Kiyamu, Melisa
AU - Brutsaert, Tom D.
AU - Bigham, Abigail W.
AU - Dolinoy, Dana C.
N1 - Funding Information:
First and foremost, we would like to thank the study participants of Lima and Cerro de Pasco, Peru. We are also thankful to Dr. Sudipta Ghosh (NEHU University, Shillong, India), Obed Garcia, Alexandra Fietel (University of Michigan), Nate Bartman and Jason Howard (Syracuse U), Francisco Villafuerte (Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia), Cecilia Anza Ramirez (Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia), and Justino Panez (Cerro de Pasco) for help with obtaining GPS coordinates. We are grateful for the help of several participant recruiters and physicians, including Cesar De Albertis, Dolly Nieves, Laura Mori, Josseline Honorio, and Alejandro Zamudio. This work was funded by the National Science Foundation grants BCS-1132310 (T.D.B, F.L. and A.W.B.) and BCS-1613415 (A.C and A.W.B); Wenner-Gren Foundation Grant (A.C); The University of Michigan (A.W.B and A.C.); and the Michigan Lifestage Environmental Exposures and Disease (M−LEEaD) NIEHS Core Center (P30 ES017885). A.C. was supported by a Baldwin Fellowship from the L.S.B. Leakey Foundation.
Funding Information:
First and foremost, we would like to thank the study participants of Lima and Cerro de Pasco, Peru. We are also thankful to Dr. Sudipta Ghosh (NEHU University, Shillong, India), Obed Garcia, Alexandra Fietel (University of Michigan), Nate Bartman and Jason Howard (Syracuse U), Francisco Villafuerte (Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia), Cecilia Anza Ramirez (Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia), and Justino Panez (Cerro de Pasco) for help with obtaining GPS coordinates. We are grateful for the help of several participant recruiters and physicians, including Cesar De Albertis, Dolly Nieves, Laura Mori, Josseline Honorio, and Alejandro Zamudio. This work was funded by the National Science Foundation grants BCS-1132310 (T.D.B, F.L., and A.W.B.) and BCS-1613415 (A.C and A.W.B); Wenner-Gren Foundation Grant (A.C); The University of Michigan (A.W.B and A.C.); and the Michigan Lifestage Environmental Exposures and Disease (M−LEEaD) NIEHS Core Center (P30 ES017885). A.C. was supported by a Baldwin Fellowship from the L.S.B. Leakey Foundation.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021
PY - 2021/10
Y1 - 2021/10
N2 - Background: Inorganic lead (Pb) is common in the environment, and is toxic to neurological, renal, and cardiovascular systems. Pb exposure influences the epigenome with documented effects on DNA methylation (DNAm). We assessed the impact of low levels of Pb exposure on DNAm among non-miner individuals from two locations in Peru: Lima, the capital, and Cerro de Pasco, a highland mining town, to study the effects of Pb exposure on physiological outcomes and DNAm. Methods: Pb levels were measured in whole blood (n = 305). Blood leukocyte DNAm was determined for 90 DNA samples using the Illumina MethylationEPIC chip. An epigenome-wide association study was performed to assess the relationship between Pb and DNAm. Results: Individuals from Cerro de Pasco had higher Pb than individuals from Lima (p-value = 2.00E-16). Males had higher Pb than females (p-value = 2.36E-04). Pb was positively associated with hemoglobin (p-value = 8.60E-04). In Cerro de Pasco, blood Pb decreased with the distance from the mine (p-value = 0.04), and association with soil Pb was approaching significance (p-value = 0.08). We identified differentially methylated positions (DMPs) associated with genes SOX18, ZMIZ1, and KDM1A linked to neurological function. We also found 45 differentially methylated regions (DMRs), seven of which were associated with genes involved in metal ion binding and nine to neurological function and development. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that even low levels of Pb can have a significant impact on the body including changes to DNAm. We report associations between Pb and hemoglobin, Pb and distance from mining, and between blood and soil Pb. We also report associations between loci- and region-specific DNAm and Pb.
AB - Background: Inorganic lead (Pb) is common in the environment, and is toxic to neurological, renal, and cardiovascular systems. Pb exposure influences the epigenome with documented effects on DNA methylation (DNAm). We assessed the impact of low levels of Pb exposure on DNAm among non-miner individuals from two locations in Peru: Lima, the capital, and Cerro de Pasco, a highland mining town, to study the effects of Pb exposure on physiological outcomes and DNAm. Methods: Pb levels were measured in whole blood (n = 305). Blood leukocyte DNAm was determined for 90 DNA samples using the Illumina MethylationEPIC chip. An epigenome-wide association study was performed to assess the relationship between Pb and DNAm. Results: Individuals from Cerro de Pasco had higher Pb than individuals from Lima (p-value = 2.00E-16). Males had higher Pb than females (p-value = 2.36E-04). Pb was positively associated with hemoglobin (p-value = 8.60E-04). In Cerro de Pasco, blood Pb decreased with the distance from the mine (p-value = 0.04), and association with soil Pb was approaching significance (p-value = 0.08). We identified differentially methylated positions (DMPs) associated with genes SOX18, ZMIZ1, and KDM1A linked to neurological function. We also found 45 differentially methylated regions (DMRs), seven of which were associated with genes involved in metal ion binding and nine to neurological function and development. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that even low levels of Pb can have a significant impact on the body including changes to DNAm. We report associations between Pb and hemoglobin, Pb and distance from mining, and between blood and soil Pb. We also report associations between loci- and region-specific DNAm and Pb.
KW - Andes
KW - DNA methylation
KW - EWAS
KW - Hemoglobin
KW - Lead (Pb)
KW - Mining
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85104920289&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.envint.2021.106587
DO - 10.1016/j.envint.2021.106587
M3 - Article
C2 - 33940396
AN - SCOPUS:85104920289
SN - 0160-4120
VL - 155
JO - Environmental International
JF - Environmental International
M1 - 106587
ER -