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. 2023 Mar 8;20(6):4760.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph20064760.

Influence of Environmental Exposure to Steel Waste on Endocrine Dysregulation and PER3 Gene Polymorphisms

Gilvania Barreto Feitosa Coutinho  1 , Maria de Fátima Ramos Moreira  1 , Frida Marina Fischer  2 , Maria Carolina Reis Dos Santos  1 , Lucas Ferreira Feitosa  1 , Sayonara Vieira de Azevedo  1 , Renato Marçullo Borges  1 , Michelle Nascimento-Sales  3   4 , Marcelo Augusto Christoffolete  3 , Marden Samir Santa-Marinha  1 , Daniel Valente  1 , Liliane Reis Teixeira  1
Affiliations

Influence of Environmental Exposure to Steel Waste on Endocrine Dysregulation and PER3 Gene Polymorphisms

Gilvania Barreto Feitosa Coutinho et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the association between environmental exposure to the following chemical substances: cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), manganese (Mn), benzene (BZN), and toluene (TLN), and Period Circadian Regulator 3 (PER3) gene variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) polymorphisms, according to chronotype in a population living in a steel residue-contaminated area.

Methods: This assessment comprises a study conducted from 2017 to 2019 with 159 participants who completed health, work, and Pittsburgh sleep scale questionnaires. Cd, Pb, Ni, Mn, BZN, and TLN concentrations in blood and urine were determined by Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (GFAAS) and Headspace Gas Chromatography (GC), and genotyping was carried out using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR).

Results: A total of 47% of the participants were afternoon chronotype, 42% were indifferent, and 11% were morning chronotype. Insomnia and excessive sleepiness were associated with the indifferent chronotype, while higher urinary manganese levels were associated with the morning chronotype (Kruskal-Wallis chi-square = 9.16; p < 0.01). In turn, the evening chronotype was associated with poorer sleep quality, higher lead levels in blood, and BZN and TLN levels in urine (χ2 = 11.20; p < 0.01) in non-occupationally exposed individuals (χ2 = 6.98; p < 0.01) as well as the highest BZN (χ2 = 9.66; p < 0.01) and TLN (χ2 = 5.71; p < 0.01) levels detected in residents from the influence zone 2 (far from the slag).

Conclusion: Mn, Pb, benzene, and toluene contaminants may have influenced the different chronotypes found in the steel residue-exposed population.

Keywords: PER3 gene polymorphism; chronotypes; endocrine disruptors; environmental exposure; steel industry.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest concerning the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript. Funders had no role in the design of the study; collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Delimitation of the influence zone concerning benzene and toluene exposure in the Volta Grande IV condominium.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Image from the electrophoresis gel. PCR products corresponding to PER34/4 (evening), PER35/5 (morning), and PER34/5 (intermediate) chronotypes.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Lead in blood (µg/dL−1) according to PER3 gene VNTR polymorphisms.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Manganese in blood (µg/L) according to PER3 gene VNTR polymorphisms.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Manganese in urine (µg g−1 creat) according to PER3 gene VNTR polymorphisms.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Cadmium in urine (µg g−1 creat) according to PER3 gene VNTR polymorphisms.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Nickel in urine (µg g−1 creat) according to PER3 gene VNTR polymorphisms.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Unmetabolized benzene in urine (µg L−1) according to PER3 gene VNTR polymorphisms.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Unmetabolized toluene in urine (µg L−1) according to PER3 gene VNTR polymorphisms.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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