Breathing in polluted air may wreak havoc on our DNA, reprogramming
genes in as few as three days and causing increased rates of cancer and
other diseases.
So says a new study that tracked DNA damage in 63 steel-foundry workers
in Brescia, Italy, who, under their normal factory conditions, were
exposed to particulate matter.
The same damage may occur in city dwellers exposed to normal air, the
researchers say.
Particulate matter includes suspended, tiny bits of dust, metal, or soot
in the air, which can lodge deep in the lungs. Exposure to the substance
has been linked to respiratory diseases, lung cancer, and heart
problems.
Scientists know little about how inhaling particulate matter can cause
health problems, according to lead study author Andrea Baccarelli of the
University of Milan.
But they did find that exposed workers' DNA was damaged by a slowed rate
of "methylation," a biological process in which genes are organized into
different chemical groups.
Fewer groups means that fewer genes are expressed-or made into
proteins-a crucial process in the body's regular maintenance.
(Learn
how DNA works.)
Reduced-size gene groups like the ones observed in the new study have
also been found in the blood DNA of lung cancer patients.
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