Exposure to heavy metals, antioxidant status, and the interaction of single nucleotide polymorphisms in the genes CAT rs7943316, GSTP1 rs1695, as well as GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes, among workers in occupational settings

Sosan Andleeb Khan; Syed Muhammad Nurulain; Rashid Nazir Qureshi; Amina Zafar; Zarish Riaz; Aneela Shoukat; Zahid Muneer; Nazia Bibi; Saqlain Raza; Sabir Hussain; Syed Tahir Abbas Shah

doi:10.1016/j.etap.2024.104452

Exposure to heavy metals, antioxidant status, and the interaction of single nucleotide polymorphisms in the genes CAT rs7943316, GSTP1 rs1695, as well as GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes, among workers in occupational settings

Environ Toxicol Pharmacol. 2024 Apr 23:108:104452. doi: 10.1016/j.etap.2024.104452. Online ahead of print.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biosciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Islamabad Campus, Park Road Tarlai, Islamabad 45550, Pakistan.
² Department of Biosciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Islamabad Campus, Park Road Tarlai, Islamabad 45550, Pakistan; Department of Biosciences, Grand Asian University Sialkot, Pakistan. Electronic address: syednurulain@gaus.edu.pk.
³ Central Analytical Facility Division, Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (PINSTEC), Pakistan.
⁴ Respiratory Care Department, College of Applied Medical Science in Jubail, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Jubail, Saudi Arabia.

PMID: 38663648
DOI: 10.1016/j.etap.2024.104452

Abstract

Individuals working in diverse fields are consistently exposed to work-related pollutants that can impact their overall health. The current study investigated the presence of pollutants in seven different occupational groups and their impact on human health. Biochemical and genetic approaches were employed. Heavy metals were determined by ICP-MS technique. Oxidative stress biochemical markers and molecular analysis of the glutathione transferases gene SNPs (GSTT1, GSTM1, GSTP1), catalase (CAT, rs7943316), and superoxide dismutase (SOD, rs17880487) was carried out. The results revealed a significantly higher quantity of Cd among five occupational groups. Catalase, malonaldehyde, and glutathione was significantly dysregulated. Molecular analysis of the gene SNPs suggests a probable relationship between the antioxidants and the phenotypic expression of the CAT, GSTP1, GSTT1, and GSTM1 SNPs. It is concluded that chronic exposure to occupational contaminants like Cd affects human health through oxidative stress in association with some of their gene SNPs.

Keywords: Antioxidants; Gene SNPs; Heavy metals; Occupational contaminants; Occupational health; Toxicogenetics.