title: Asbestosis and catalase genetic polymorphism.
abstract: Catalase (CAT) is part of the enzymatic defense system against reactive oxygen species (ROS), known to be involved in the pathogenesis of asbestosis. This study investigates whether CAT -262 C>T genetic polymorphism influences the risk of asbestosis in workers occupationally exposed to asbestos.The nested case-control study included 262 cases with asbestosis and 265 controls with no asbestos-related disease. Data on cumulative asbestos exposure and smoking were available. A real-time PCR assay was introduced for genotyping CAT -262 C>T promoter polymorphism.A slightly elevated risk of asbestosis was observed in subjects with the CAT -262 TT genotype compared to others (OR=1.36, CI 0.70-2.62). This risk did not change substantially after adjustment by sex, age, and smoking, but the involvement of cumulative asbestos exposure changed the OR to 1.91 (CI 0.93-3.91). These findings indicate that the CAT -262 TT genotype may be slightly associated with an increased risk of asbestosis. No synergistic effect was found between cumulative asbestos exposure and the CAT -262 TT genotype, but cumulative asbestos exposure acted as a confounder. These results are an important contribution to understanding the interactions between genetic and environmental factors that may modify the risk of asbestosis.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Institute of Occupational, Traffic and Sports Medicine, University Medical Centre, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Alenka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Franko
authors.forename: Vita
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Dolzan
authors.forename: Niko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Arnerić
authors.forename: Metoda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dodic-Fikfak
mesh_terms: D001195:Asbestosis / Q000235:genetics*; D002374:Catalase / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic
chemical_list: D002374:Catalase