Effect of long-term human exposure to environmental heavy metals on the expression of detoxification and DNA repair genes

Abstract

The present study was designed to evaluate the influence of long-term environmental human exposure to three heavy metals, lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and mercury (Hg), on the expression of detoxifying, xenobiotic metabolizing, and DNA repair genes in Mahd Ad-Dahab city. The study groups consisted of 40 healthy male residents (heavy metal-exposed) and 20 healthy male from Riyadh city, 700 km away, and served as control group. The heavy metal-exposed group with high exposure to Pb, Cd, or Hg was divided into three subgroups Pb-, Cd-, and Hg-exposed groups, respectively. The mRNA expression levels of detoxifying, NQO1, HO-1, GSTA1, MT-1, and HSP70, were significantly decreased in all heavy metal-exposed group as compared to control group. This was accompanied with a proportional decrease in the expression of xenobiotic metabolizing gene, cytochrome P4501A1. On the other hand, the DNA repair gene OGG1 and the 8-OHdG level were dramatically inhibited in Cd-exposed group only.

Keywords: Cadmium; DNA adduct; Lead; Mercury; Mining activity.