title: Gene expression profiles in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of Chinese nickel refinery workers with high exposures to nickel and control subjects.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Occupational exposure to nickel (Ni) is associated with an increased risk of lung and nasal cancers. Ni compounds exhibit weak mutagenic activity, alter the cell's epigenetic homeostasis, and activate signaling pathways. However, changes in gene expression associated with Ni exposure have only been investigated in vitro. This study was conducted in a Chinese population to determine whether occupational exposure to Ni was associated with differential gene expression profiles in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of Ni-refinery workers when compared with referents.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eight Ni-refinery workers and ten referents were selected. PBMC RNA was extracted and gene expression profiling was conducted using Affymetrix exon arrays. Differentially expressed genes (DEG) between both groups were identified in a global analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were a total of 2,756 DEGs in the Ni-refinery workers relative to the referents [false discovery rate (FDR) adjusted P < 0.05] with 770 upregulated genes and 1,986 downregulated genes. DNA repair and epigenetic genes were significantly overrepresented (P < 0.0002) among the DEGs. Of 31 DNA repair genes, 29 were repressed in the Ni-refinery workers and 2 were overexpressed. Of the 16 epigenetic genes, 12 were repressed in the Ni-refinery workers and 4 were overexpressed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study indicate that occupational exposure to Ni is associated with alterations in gene expression profiles in PBMCs of subjects.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Gene expression may be useful in identifying patterns of deregulation that precede clinical identification of Ni-induced cancers.
authors.affiliation: New York University School of Medicine, NelsonInstitute of Environmental Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arita
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Muñoz
authors.forename: Yana
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chervona
authors.forename: Jingping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.forename: Qingshan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.forename: Najuan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ruan
authors.forename: Kathrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kiok
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kluz
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Hailey A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Clancy
authors.forename: Magdy
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shamy
authors.forename: Max
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Costa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044466:Asian People / Q000235:genetics; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008669:Metallurgy; D008875:Middle Aged; D009532:Nickel / Q000009:adverse effects*; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D011379:Prognosis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D009532:Nickel