Expression variation of OGG1 and HPRT gene and DNA damage in arsenic exposed industrial workers

PLoS One. 2022 Sep 30;17(9):e0273211. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273211. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Arsenic exposure alters redox balance, induces DNA damage, and deregulates many genes. OGG1 gene involved in base repair mechanism, for excision of 8-oxoguanine (8-oxoG) from DNA formed as a result of accumulation of ROS in cell. HPRT gene encode transferase enzymes involved in purine recycling mechanism. The main focus of the study was to evaluate the expression variation in HPRT, OGG1 gene expression, and DNA damage of industrial workers. Blood samples of 300 occupational workers were collected from welding, brick kiln, furniture, pesticide, and paint industry (n = 60/industry) to evaluate the expression variation in HPRT, OGG1 gene expression, and DNA damage in blood cells by comet assay along with age and gender matched 300 control individuals. Blood arsenic content was higher (P<0.001) in an industrial group compared to the control. OGG1 and HPRT expression were (P<0.05) downregulated in exposed workers compared to controls. Spearman correlation analysis showed a significant positive correlation between HPRT vs OGG1 (P< 0.0001) in exposed workers compared to controls. Altered expression of both genes was observed between workers with <25years and >25years of age as well as between workers with <10years and >10year exposure. Reduced expression (P<0.05) of both genes and a high extent of DNA damage was evident in exposed smokers compared to respective non-smokers. DNA fragmentation was higher (P<0.05) in the furniture, welding and brick kiln group compared to control, and other industries. The present study suggests that altered expression of OGG1 and HPRT gene induce oxidative stress, showed a negative impact on the recycling of purines leading to DNA damage which increase the vulnerability of workers to carcinogenicity.

MeSH terms

  • Arsenic* / toxicity
  • Child
  • DNA
  • DNA Damage
  • DNA Glycosylases
  • DNA Repair
  • Humans
  • Hypoxanthine Phosphoribosyltransferase / genetics
  • Oxidative Stress / genetics
  • Pesticides*
  • Reactive Oxygen Species

Substances

  • Pesticides
  • Reactive Oxygen Species
  • DNA
  • Hypoxanthine Phosphoribosyltransferase
  • DNA Glycosylases
  • oxoguanine glycosylase 1, human
  • Arsenic

Grants and funding

The authors extend their appreciation to the Researchers Supporting project number (RSP2022R502), King Saud University, Riyadh Saudi Arabia for funding this project. Funding body has no role in designing the study, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The authors received no salary for this work.