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Global DNA (LINE-1) methylation is associated with lead exposure and certain job tasks performed by electronic waste workers

  • Original Article
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International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objective

This study assessed the associations between blood and urine levels of toxic metals; cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb), and methylation levels of the LINE-1 gene among e-waste and control populations in Ghana.

Methods

The study enrolled 100 male e-waste workers and 51 all-male non-e-waste workers or controls. The concentrations of Cd and Pb were measured in blood and urine using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, while LINE1 methylation levels were assessed by pyrosequencing of bisulfite-converted DNA extracted from whole blood. Single and multiple metals linear regression models were used to determine the associations between metals and LINE1 DNA methylation.

Results

Blood lead (BPb) and urine lead (UPb) showed higher median concentrations among the e-waste workers than the controls (76.82 µg/L vs 40.25 µg/L, p ≤ 0.001; and 6.89 µg/L vs 3.43 µg/L, p ≤ 0.001, respectively), whereas blood cadmium (BCd) concentration was lower in the e-waste workers compared to the controls (0.59 µg/L vs 0.81 µg/L, respectively, p = 0.003). There was no significant difference in LINE1 methylation between the e-waste and controls (85.16 ± 1.32% vs 85.17 ± 1.11%, p = 0.950). In our single metal linear regression models, BPb was significantly inversely associated with LINE1 methylation in the control group (βBPb = − 0.027, 95% CI − 0.045, − 0.010, p = 0.003). In addition, a weak association between BPb and LINE1 was observed in the multiple metals analysis in the e-waste worker group (βBPb = − 0.005, 95% CI − 0.011, 0.000, p = 0.058).

Conclusion

Continuous Pb exposure may interfere with LINE1 methylation, leading to epigenetic alterations, thus serving as an early epigenetic marker for future adverse health outcomes.

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Availability of data and materials

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to privacy reasons but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

Cd:

Cadmium

CpG:

Cytosine-guanine dinucleotide

DNMTs:

DNA methyltransferases

E-waste:

Electronic waste

GeoHealth:

Global environmental and occupational health

HEI:

Health Effect Institute

LINE1:

Long interspersed nucleotide element-1

NHANES:

National health and nutrition examination survey

PAHs:

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Pb:

Lead

POPs:

Persistent organic pollutants

SAM:

S-adenosyl methionine

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank all the study participants and the supporting staff of the GEOHealth II project. The authors also acknowledge the University of Michigan sequencing core for running the LINE1 pyrosequencing. We further acknowledge the dedicated help of the phlebotomist, trained interpreters and dietitians who facilitated the data collection process. In addition, technical assistance in the lab was provided by Andrea Santa-Rios, Hélène Lalande, Tianai Zhou, and Jenny Eng.

Funding

This study was financed by the ½ West Africa-Michigan CHARTER in GEO-Health with funding from the United States National Institutes of Health/Fogarty International Center (US NIH/FIC) (paired Grant no 1U2RTW010110-01/5U01TW010101) and Canada's International Development Research Center (IDRC) (Grant no. 108121–001).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Legon, P.O. Box LG13, Accra, Ghana

    Ibrahim Issah, John Arko-Mensah, Thomas P. Agyekum & Julius N. Fobil

  2. Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    Laura S. Rozek, Katie R. Zarins, Stuart Batterman & Thomas G. Robins

  3. Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, P.O. Box LG13, Accra, Ghana

    Duah Dwomoh

  4. Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

    Niladri Basu

Authors
  1. Ibrahim Issah
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  2. John Arko-Mensah
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  3. Laura S. Rozek
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  4. Katie R. Zarins
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  5. Thomas P. Agyekum
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  7. Niladri Basu
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  8. Stuart Batterman
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  9. Thomas G. Robins
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  10. Julius N. Fobil
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Contributions

Conceptualization: II, TGR, JNF, LSR and JA-M; Methodology: II, LSR, KRZ, JNF and JA-M; Formal analysis and investigation: II, DD, TGR, JNF, JA-M, NB, TPA, LSR, and KRZ; Writing—original draft preparation: II; Writing—review and editing: II, LSR, KRZ, JNF, JA-M, and TPA; Funding acquisition: TGR, SB, NB, and JNF; Resources: TGR, JNF Supervision: JNF, TGR, JA-M, and LSR. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ibrahim Issah.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval

The study was conducted after receiving ethical clearance from the College of Health Sciences Ethical and Protocol Review Committee, University of Ghana (protocol identification number CHS-ET/M.4-P 3.9/2015–2016).

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Issah, I., Arko-Mensah, J., Rozek, L.S. et al. Global DNA (LINE-1) methylation is associated with lead exposure and certain job tasks performed by electronic waste workers. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 94, 1931–1944 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-021-01733-8

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