Long-term environmental metal exposure is associated with hypomethylation of CpG sites in NFKB1 and other genes related to oncogenesis

Development of RT-LAMP assay for detection of lead and cadmium toxicity using HepG2 cells

Heavy metals such as lead and cadmium are prevalent in the environment. These are harmful to living beings even at lower concentrations as they persist in the body for years and lead to the development of severe diseases. Therefore, the present work was designed to develop a rapid and field-applicable cell-based assay for quick detection of lead and cadmium in biofluids using an RNA biomarker. The RNA biomarker was identified by analyzing the impact of these heavy metals on the gene expression of candidate genes using HepG2 cells. The results showed that the gene expression of AhR pathway-related genes, apoptosis-related genes, MAPK1, and HMOX1 were significantly increased after lead and cadmium treatments (P < 0.05). Interestingly, the gene expression of HMOX1 was increased linearly up to fivefold in a dose and time-dependent manner in the case of both heavy metals which also correlated with an increased secretion of bilirubin from the cells after 6 h treatment. Therefore, the RT-LAMP assay was developed for lead and cadmium toxicity using HMOX1. The positive amplification was visualized in the form of color change of HNB dye from violet to blue in 30 min. Additionally, standard curves were also prepared for the RT-LAMP color change after treatment with different concentrations of lead and cadmium for their quantification in unknown samples. The developed RT-LAMP assay was also validated using lead and cadmium-spiked milk samples. The ROC curve analysis showed 100% sensitivity and specificity for both heavy metals above their MRL value in infant milk substitutes and infant foods. This assay can be utilized for early detection of heavy metals in common food items such as milk.

Genetics, Epigenetics, and the Environment: Are Precision Medicine, Provider Compassion, and Social Justice Effective Public Health Measures to Mitigate Disease Risk and Severity?

Environmental forces impacting public health include exposure to toxic substances, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), diet, and exercise. Here, we examine the first two of these forces in some detail since they may be amenable to correction through cultural, medical, and practitioner intervention. At the same time, changing people's dietary and exercise routines are likely more resistant to these interventions and are referred to only incidentally in this review. That is, societal efforts could prevent exposure to toxicants and ACEs-not necessarily requiring cooperation by the affected individuals-whereas changing diet and exercise practices requires an individual's discipline. Toxic substances considered in this review include endocrine disruptors, arsenics, 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), the organic solvent, Trichloroethylene (TCE), and the Benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) produced from incomplete combustion of tobacco and other organic materials. Exposure to each of these toxic substances may have serious adverse health effects, especially in genetically more susceptible individuals. For example, children of mothers exposed to the endocrine disruptor, Atrazine, have significantly lower birth length, weight, and head circumference. Moreover, male offspring exhibit genital abnormalities, and all of these effects may be transgenerational. However, analyses of interactions among genes, the environment, and epigenetic modifications have already revealed distinctive individual risks of adverse reactions to toxic exposure. So, interventions through precision medicine might improve the health of those exposed individuals. Adults previously exposed to more than one ACE (e.g., child abuse and inter-parental violence) are more likely to develop anxiety, cancer, and diabetes. Detecting ACE exposures in children in the general population is fraught with difficulty. Thus, the risks of ACEs to our health remain even more insidious than exposures to toxicants. Nevertheless, higher provider compassion is associated with significantly better clinical outcomes for patients with these afflictions. For all these reasons, the first major aim of this review is to recount several of the major forces contributing to or impairing public health. Our second major aim is to examine mitigating influences on these forces, including social justice and provider compassion in the setting of precision medicine. Idealistically, these mitigators might eventually lead to the development of more cooperative and compassionate cultures and societies.

The Effects of Environmental Exposure on Epigenetic Modifications in Allergic Diseases

Allergic diseases are one of the most common chronic conditions and their prevalence is on the rise. Environmental exposure, primarily prenatal and early life influences, affect the risk for the development and specific phenotypes of allergic diseases via epigenetic mechanisms. Exposure to pollutants, microorganisms and parasites, tobacco smoke and certain aspects of diet are known to drive epigenetic changes that are essential for immune regulation (e.g., the shift toward T helper 2-Th2 cell polarization and decrease in regulatory T-cell (Treg) differentiation). DNA methylation and histone modifications can modify immune programming related to either pro-allergic interleukin 4 (IL-4), interleukin 13 (IL-13) or counter-regulatory interferon γ (IFN-γ) production. Differential expression of small non-coding RNAs has also been linked to the risk for allergic diseases and associated with air pollution. Certain exposures and associated epigenetic mechanisms play a role in the susceptibility to allergic conditions and specific clinical manifestations of the disease, while others are thought to have a protective role against the development of allergic diseases, such as maternal and early postnatal microbial diversity, maternal helminth infections and dietary supplementation with polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin D. Epigenetic mechanisms are also known to be involved in mediating the response to common treatment in allergic diseases, for example, changes in histone acetylation of proinflammatory genes and in the expression of certain microRNAs are associated with the response to inhaled corticosteroids in asthma. Gaining better insight into the epigenetic regulation of allergic diseases may ultimately lead to significant improvements in the management of these conditions, earlier and more precise diagnostics, optimization of current treatment regimes, and the implementation of novel therapeutic options and prevention strategies in the near future.