Uncovering the health implications of abandoned mines through protein profiling of local residents

Sora Mun; You-Rim Lee; Jiyeong Lee; Seungyeon Lee; Yeeun Yun; Jeeyoung Kim; Jung-Yeon Kwon; Woo Jin Kim; Yong Min Cho; Young-Seoub Hong; Hee-Gyoo Kang

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2024.118869

Uncovering the health implications of abandoned mines through protein profiling of local residents

Environ Res. 2024 Apr 3;252(Pt 1):118869. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.118869. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Sora Mun¹, You-Rim Lee², Jiyeong Lee³, Seungyeon Lee², Yeeun Yun⁴, Jeeyoung Kim⁵, Jung-Yeon Kwon⁶, Woo Jin Kim⁵, Yong Min Cho⁷, Young-Seoub Hong⁶, Hee-Gyoo Kang⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biomedical Laboratory Science, College of Health Sciences, Eulji University, Seongnam, 13135, Republic of Korea.
² Department of Senior Healthcare, Graduate School, Eulji University, Uijeongbu, 11759, Republic of Korea.
³ Department of Biomedical Laboratory Science, College of Health Science, Eulji University, Uijeongbu, 11759, Republic of Korea; Department of Biomedical Laboratory Science, Graduate School, Eulji University, Uijeongbu, 11759, Republic of Korea.
⁴ Department of Biomedical Laboratory Science, Graduate School, Eulji University, Uijeongbu, 11759, Republic of Korea.
⁵ Department of Internal Medicine and Environmental Health Center, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, 24341, Republic of Korea.
⁶ Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Dong-A University, 32, Daesin Gongwon-ro, Seo-gu, Busan, 49201, Republic of Korea; Busan Environmental Health Center, Dong-A University, Busan, 49201, Republic of Korea.
⁷ Department of Nano, Chemical and Biological Engineering, SeoKyeong University, Seoul, 02713, Republic of Korea.
⁸ Department of Biomedical Laboratory Science, College of Health Sciences, Eulji University, Seongnam, 13135, Republic of Korea; Department of Senior Healthcare, Graduate School, Eulji University, Uijeongbu, 11759, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: kanghg@eulji.ac.kr.

PMID: 38580000
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.118869

Abstract

Residents in areas with abandoned mines risk significant exposure to abundant heavy metals in the environment. However, current clinical indicators cannot fully reflect the health changes associated with abandoned mine exposure. The aim of this study was to identify biological changes in the residents of abandoned mine areas via proteomic analysis of their blood. Blood samples were collected from abandoned mine and control areas, and mass spectrometry was used for protein profiling. A total of 138 unique or common proteins that were differentially expressed in low-exposure abandoned mine area (LoAMA) or high-exposure abandoned mine area (HiAMA) compared to non-exposure control area (NEA) were analyzed, and identified 4 clusters based on functional similarity. Among the 10 proteins that showed specific change in LoAMA, 4 proteins(Apolipoprotein M, Apolipoprotein E, Apolipoprotein L1, and Cholesteryl ester transfer protein) were cluded in cluster 1(plasma lipoprotein remodeling), and linked to proteins that showed specific change in protein expression in HiAMA. Therefore, it is suggested that 4 proteins are changed at low exposure to an abandoned mine (or initial exposure), and then at high exposure, changes in various proteins involved in linked plasma lipoprotein remodeling are induced, which might triggered by the 4 proteins. Interestingly, in addition to plasma lipoprotein remodeling, proteins involved in other functional networks were changed in the high exposure group. These were all directly or indirectly linked to the 4 biomarkers(Apolipoprotein M, Apolipoprotein E, Apolipoprotein L1, and Cholesteryl ester transfer protein) that changed during low exposure. This suggests their potential utility in identifying areas impacted by abandoned mines. Especially, proteins involved in lipid metabolism and renal function-related diseases in individuals exposed to heavy metals in abandoned mine areas were correlated. Chronic kidney disease is predominantly instigated by cardiovascular disease and is commonly accompanied by dyslipidemia.

Keywords: Abandoned mine area; Biomarker; Lipoprotein metabolism; Protein network mapping.