Role of Ape1 in Impaired DNA Repair Capacity in Battery Recycling Plant Workers Exposed to Lead

Pablo Hernández-Franco, María Maldonado-Vega, José Víctor Calderón-Salinas, Emilio Rojas and Mahara Valverde
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Pablo Hernández-Franco: Departamento de Medicina Genómica y Toxicología Ambiental, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
María Maldonado-Vega: Hospital Regional de Alta Especialidad del Bajío, Dirección de Planeación, Enseñanza e Investigación, Blvd. Milenio #130, Colonia San Carlos La Roncha, León 37660, Mexico
José Víctor Calderón-Salinas: Departamento de Bioquímica, Centro de Investigación y Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Av. IPN #2508, Colonia San Pedro Zacatenco, Mexico City 07480, Mexico
Emilio Rojas: Departamento de Medicina Genómica y Toxicología Ambiental, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
Mahara Valverde: Departamento de Medicina Genómica y Toxicología Ambiental, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico City 04510, Mexico

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 13, 1-17

Abstract: Exposure to lead in environmental and occupational settings continues to be a serious public health problem. At environmentally relevant doses, two mechanisms may underlie lead exposition-induced genotoxicity, disruption of the redox balance and an interference with DNA repair systems. The aim of the study was to evaluate the ability of lead exposition to induce impaired function of Ape1 and its impact on DNA repair capacity of workers chronically exposed to lead in a battery recycling plant. Our study included 53 participants, 37 lead exposed workers and 16 non-lead exposed workers. Lead intoxication was characterized by high blood lead concentration, high lipid peroxidation and low activity of delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (δ-ALAD). Relevantly, we found a loss of DNA repair capacity related with down-regulation of a set of specific DNA repair genes, showing specifically, for the first time, the role of Ape1 down regulation at transcriptional and protein levels in workers exposed to lead. Additionally, using a functional assay we found an impaired function of Ape1 that correlates with high blood lead concentration and lipid peroxidation. Taken together, these data suggest that occupational exposure to lead could decrease DNA repair capacity, inhibiting the function of Ape1, as well other repair genes through the regulation of the ZF-transcription factor, promoting the genomic instability.

Keywords: lead exposed workers; DNA-repair capacity; Ape1 activity; comet assay; stress and toxicity gene profile; ZF-TF (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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