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Blood methylomics in response to arsenic exposure in a low-exposed US population

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 24, pages 145–149 (2014)Cite this article

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Abstract

Exposure to arsenic (As) has been associated with a number of diseases such as cancers, cardiovascular diseases (CVD), and neurological disorders. To explore the possible underlying epigenetic mechanisms, a nested case–control study was conducted within the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study by randomly selecting 46 non-smoker and non-diabetic White participants with low (N=23) and high (N=23) As exposure based on toenail total As measures at examination year 2. We conducted methylomic profiling of white blood cell (WBC) DNA collected at examination year 15 using the Illumina HumanMethylation450 BeadChip, and performed association tests using multiple linear regression models adjusting for age, sex, and estimated WBC proportions. We observed 22 CpG sites with methylation levels associated with high As exposure at a nominal significance level of 10−4. However, the statistical significance disappeared after correction for multiple testing. Some genes annotated by these 22 CpG sites are known to be involved in As-associated diseases. Replication in larger samples of individuals with low levels of As exposure will be required.

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Acknowledgements

The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study (CARDIA) is conducted and supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) in collaboration with the University of Alabama at Birmingham (HHSN268201300025C and HHSN268201300026C), Northwestern University (HHSN268201300027C), University of Minnesota (HHSN268201300028C), Kaiser Foundation Research Institute (HHSN268201300029C), and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (HHSN268200900041C). CARDIA is also partially supported by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute on Aging. This study is supported in part by George M Eisenberg Foundation and an NHLBI grant (R01HL081572). This manuscript has been reviewed by CARDIA for scientific content.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Mary Ann and J. Milburn Smith Child Health Research Program, Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago Research Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Xin Liu

  2. Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Xin Liu, Xiao Zhang, Donald M LIoyd-Jones, Hongyan Ning, Kiang Liu & Lifang Hou

  3. Driskill Graduate Program (DGP) in Life Sciences, Northwestern University Biomedical Informatics Center (NUBIC), Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (NUCATS), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Yinan Zheng

  4. Department of Pediatrics, Institute of Human Genetics, University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Wei Zhang

  5. Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Andrea A Baccarelli

  6. Division of Epidemiology Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Molecular Medicine and School of Public Health, University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston, Houston, Texas, USA

    Myriam Fornage

  7. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Indiana University School of Public Health, Bloomington, Indiana, USA

    Ka He

  8. The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Lifang Hou

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  1. Xin Liu
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Correspondence to Lifang Hou.

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Liu, X., Zheng, Y., Zhang, W. et al. Blood methylomics in response to arsenic exposure in a low-exposed US population. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 24, 145–149 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2013.89

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2013.89

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