Are genetic polymorphisms in OGG1, XRCC1 and XRCC3 genes predictive for the DNA strand break repair phenotype and genotoxicity in workers exposed to low dose ionising radiations?

Identification of higher risk individuals carrying genetic polymorphisms responsible for reduced DNA repair capacity has substantial preventive implications as these individuals could be targeted for cancer prevention. We have conducted a study to assess the predictivity of the OGG1, XRCC1 and XRCC3 genotypes and the in vitro single strand break repair phenotype for the induction of genotoxic effects. At the population level, a significant contribution of the OGG1 genotypes to the in vitro DNA strand break repair capacity was found. At an individual level, the OGG1 variants Ser/Cys and Cys/Cys genotypes showed a slower in vitro DNA repair than the Ser/Ser OGG1genotype. A multivariate analysis performed with genotypes, age, cumulative dose, exposure status and smoking as independent variables indicated that in the control population, repair capacity is influenced by age and OGG1 polymorphisms. In the exposed population, DNA damage is greater in older men and in smokers. Repair capacity is slower in individuals with Ser/Cys or Cys/Cys OGG1 genotypes compared to those with the Ser/Ser OGG1 genotype. Micronuclei (MN) frequencies increased with age and the cumulative dose of γ-rays. Analysis of the total population revealed that genetic polymorphisms in XRCC1 resulted in higher residual DNA (RDNA) values and the Met/Met variant of XRCC3 resulted in an increased frequency of micronuclei. The analysis confirms that MN frequencies are reliable biomarkers for the assessment of genetic effects in workers exposed to ionising radiation (IR). A combined analysis of the three genotypes, OGG1, XRCC1 and XRCC3 polymorphisms is advised in order to assess individual susceptibility to ionising radiation. As an alternative or complement, the in vitro DNA strand break repair phenotype which integrates several repair pathways is recommended. Smokers with OGG1 polymorphisms who are exposed to ionising radiation represent a specific population requiring closer medical surveillance because of their increased mutagenic/carcinogenic risk. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Dose-dependent influence of genetic polymorphisms on DNA damage induced by styrene oxide, ethylene oxide and gamma-radiation.

Styrene oxide (SO), ethylene oxide (EO) and gamma-radiation (G) are agents with a well-described metabolism and genotoxicity. EPHX1 and GSTs play an important role in the detoxification of electrophiles and oxidative stress. Enzymes involved in base excision repair (hOGG1, XRCC1), in rejoining single strand breaks (XRCC1) and in repair of cross-links and chromosomal double strand breaks (XRCC3) might have an impact on genotoxicity as well. In this study we assessed the dose-dependent effect of genetic polymorphisms in biotransforming (EPHX (Tyr113/His113 and His139/Arg139), GSTP1 (Ile105/Val105), GSTM1 and GSTT1) and DNA repair enzymes (hOGG1 (Ser326/Cys326), XRCC1 (Arg194/Trp194, Arg280/His280, Arg399/Gln399), XRCC3 (Thr241/Met241)) on the induced genotoxicity. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 20 individuals were exposed to 3 doses per agent (+control). Genotoxicity was evaluated by measuring comet tail length (TL) and micronucleus frequencies in binucleated cells (MNCB). Dose-dependent DNA damage was found for all agents and end-points, with the exception of MNCB induced by EO. Repeated measure ANOVA revealed a significant contribution of hOGG1 and XRCC3 genotypes to the inter-individual variability of TL and MNCB in cells exposed to EO and G. Homozygous hOGG1326 wild cells showed significantly lower EO-induced TL than the heterozygous cells. Significantly higher TL and MNCB were found in EO-exposed cells carrying the XRCC3(241)Met variant and the influence on TL was more pronounced at higher dose. In G-irradiated cells, TL was significantly higher in the hOGG1326 homozygous wild types compared with mutated genotypes. The influence of hOGG1326 on TL was borderline dose-dependent. We conclude that the influence of genetic polymorphisms of enzymes involved in DNA repair on induced genotoxicity depends on exposure dose

Simplicity and complexity of genetic susceptibility in the occupational environment

The individual response to physical or chemical stress may vary as a function of the particular gene combination regarding metabolism of chemical mutagens, DNA repair, cell death and cell cycle control. Nowadays, methods for genotyping have become easy to perform and in vitro phenotyping approaches are in development. It is therefore interesting to consider whether these methods assessing genetic susceptibility can be implemented for occupational biomonitoring. A major question is whether genotyping or phenotyping or both has the best predictive value for cancer risk and should be applied. To fully understand the relationship between genotype and phenotype, knowledge about the different factors influencing the expression of a genotype into a phenotype is still missing. In this review we compare advantages and disadvantages of genotyping and phenotyping to assess individual susceptibility and discuss the different parameters modifying the genotype-phenotype relationship. The importance of both approaches is illustrated by a study conducted in our laboratory in workers exposed to low dose ionising radiation. Genotyping for hOGG1, XRCC1 and XRCC3, enzymes involved in base excision and double strand DNA repair was performed, the DNA strand break repair phenotype was assessed by in vitro challenging with γ-rays. The results indicate that hOGG1 and XRCC3 may be predictive for induced mutations after exposure to ionising radiation, and that the in vitro repair phenotype assay might also be a valuable approach to assess individual susceptibility. Additional studies on larger population samples are needed before advising these genetic tests for susceptibility in daily practice.SCOPUS: re.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Influence of genetic polymorphisms on biomarkers of exposure and genotoxic effects in styrene-exposed workers.

A study on 44 workers exposed to styrene and 44 matched referents was performed in order to examine the influence of genetic polymorphisms in biotransformation and DNA repair enzymes on the levels of N-terminal hemoglobin adducts and genotoxicity biomarkers. Urinary mandelic acid concentration averaged 201.57 mg/g creatinine +/-148.32 in exposed workers, corresponding to a calculated average airborne styrene exposure of 9.5 ppm +/-9.6. Individuals with a high level of N-terminal valine adducts had higher levels of DNA damage, as evaluated by the Comet assay (r = 0.29, P = 0.008). Frequencies of micronucleated mononucleated lymphocytes (MNMC) (0.71 +/- 0.88 vs 0.11 +/- 0.20, P<0.0001), micronucleated binucleated lymphocytes (MNBC) (3.93 +/- 2.75 vs 2.65 +/- 1.94, p = 0.02) and micronucleated nasal epithelial cells (0.52 +/- 0.49 vs 0.23 +/- 0.31, p = 0.04) differed significantly between the exposed and referent groups. In the whole group of 88 individuals, higher frequencies of MNMC were found in individuals possessing the XRCC3 Met(241) allele and those individuals with the XRCC1 Gln( (399) ) allele showed higher frequencies of MNMC and MNCB. In vitro DNA repair capacity, as measured by residual DNA strand breaks in peripheral blood leukocytes after a styrene oxide challenge, was also influenced by styrene exposure, with an apparent induction of early repair mechanisms associated with the intensity of recent exposure and a reduction of late (24 h) repair capacity that was associated with the duration of employment. After 1 h of repair, lower levels of residual DNA damage were found in individuals possessing GSTT1 (P = 0.043). After 24 h of repair, lower residual DNA damage was found in individuals homozygous for XRCC1 Arg(194) (P = 0.013). Multivariate regression analysis indicated that the duration of exposure, smoking habits and polymorphisms of XRCC1 at codon 399 were important variables affecting the genotoxic responses. Our data suggest that DNA damage is formed in workers exposed to low concentrations of styrene, and that genotypes of metabolising and DNA-repair genes are important for the assessment of individual genotoxic risk to styrene. The in vitro DNA repair phenotype assay might be a valuable method to estimate the susceptibility of workers

Genetic susceptibility of newborn daughters to oxidative stress

A central question in risk assessment is whether newborns' susceptibility to mutagens is different from that of adults. Therefore we investigated whether genotype and/or the DNA strand break repair phenotype in combination with the MN assay would allow estimation of the relative sensitivity of a newborn as compared to his mother for oxidative DNA damage. We compared the in vitro genetic susceptibility for H2O2 in PBMC of 17 mother-newborn daughter pairs taking into account genotypes for relevant DNA repair (hOGG1, XRCC1, XRCC3, XPD) and folate metabolism (MTHFR) polymorphisms. After in vitro challenge with H2O2 the repair capacity was assessed by the Comet assay and chromosome/genome mutations by the cytokinesis-block MN assay. No statistically significant differences were found between mothers and their newborn daughters either for initial DNA damage or for residual DNA damage. Mothers showed higher background frequencies of MN as compared to their newborn daughters, due to the age factor. This was confirmed by significantly higher frequencies of MN observed in mothers versus newborn daughters for several genotypes. No genotype with a significant effect on DNA repair capacity in newborns was identified. Concerning MN frequencies, however, newborns carrying the variant XRCC3241 genotype might be at higher risk for the induction of MN by oxidative stress. Multivariate analysis revealed a significant protective effect of maternal antioxidant supplementation during pregnancy against oxidative DNA damage in newborns in terms of MN frequencies. However, these conclusions might not be extrapolable to other types of DNA damage and need confirmation in a study on a larger population. © 2007 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe