Project

Gene expression profiles as biomarkers in human biomonitoring: the study of temporal variation in gene expression and relationships with exposure and effects of environmental pollution

Code
180D2309
Duration
01 February 2009 → 30 September 2010
Funding
Regional and community funding: various
Research disciplines
  • Medical and health sciences
    • Medical imaging and therapy
    • Morphological sciences
    • Oncology
    • Medical imaging and therapy
    • Morphological sciences
    • Oncology
    • Other paramedical sciences
    • Medical imaging and therapy
    • Morphological sciences
    • Oncology
Keywords
genexpression
 
Project description

As part of a preventive environment and health, there is a strong need for the development of new biomarkers of exposure and / or effects of environmental pollutants, which already give an indication of possible health effects at an early stage. Measuring gene expression in peripheral blood using microarray is an attractive concept. The underlying hypothesis is that circulating blood reflects the physiological response of an organism, and that these blood cells, lymphocytes and, more specifically, to adjust their transcriptome (gene expression profile) as a function of the state of health of the host. Monitoring gene expression profiles is therefore seen as a promising approach for the identification of sensitive biomarkers in a human biomonitoring program. This study aims to contribute to the identification of sensitive markers of adverse effects already indicate health effects at an early stage. In a first work package (WP1), a literature study was made of the capabilities and difficulties in the use as a biomarker gene expression in the human-environmental biomonitoring, and the potential benefits over traditional biomarkers. A major requirement to use gene expression in biomonitoring is that the normal transcriptional variability documented. It is important to characterize the variation at the population level, but also temporal variation at the individual level. Only if such background values ​​are known, can be obtained by gene expression after exposure to pollutants ascertain whether a significant increase or decrease of gene expression. In this study, the stability of gene expression in blood was in function of time was examined using data from a study population of healthy adults. Short and long-term variability in gene expression has been described and analyzed in work package 2. The emphasis on seasonality and the influence of gender. In the third part (WP 3) the impact of polluentblootstelling was examined for gene expression. The policy usefulness of gene expression profiles in the context of a human biomonitoring is discussed in monitoring network WP4. The study indicated that in an environment-health context, gene expression monitoring is promising but not yet so far developed for clinical applications. The technology appears to be robust but there is a constant evolution on th field of data processing and interpretation. The short-term and seasonal variability of individual genes was documented in a study of healthy young adults. Exposure-response relationships were observed at which the response was found often genus specific. The technology is used in a biomonitoring context as "early warning signal" for complex exposure, but the interpretation of the meaning of health requires further follow-up