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      Association of Global DNA Methylation and Global DNA Hydroxymethylation with Metals and Other Exposures in Human Blood DNA Samples

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          Abstract

          Background: The association between human blood DNA global methylation and global hydroxymethylation has not been evaluated in population-based studies. No studies have evaluated environmental determinants of global DNA hydroxymethylation, including exposure to metals.

          Objective: We evaluated the association between global DNA methylation and global DNA hydroxymethylation in 48 Strong Heart Study participants for which selected metals had been measured in urine at baseline and DNA was available from 1989–1991 (visit 1) and 1998–1999 (visit 3).

          Methods: We measured the percentage of 5-methylcytosine (5-mC) and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC) in samples using capture and detection antibodies followed by colorimetric quantification. We explored the association of participant characteristics (i.e., age, adiposity, smoking, and metal exposure) with both global DNA methylation and global DNA hydroxymethylation.

          Results: The Spearman’s correlation coefficient for 5-mC and 5-hmC levels was 0.32 ( p = 0.03) at visit 1 and 0.54 ( p < 0.001) at visit 3. Trends for both epigenetic modifications were consistent across potential determinants. In cross-sectional analyses, the odds ratios of methylated and hydroxymethylated DNA were 1.56 (95% CI: 0.95, 2.57) and 1.76 (95% CI: 1.07, 2.88), respectively, for the comparison of participants above and below the median percentage of dimethylarsinate. The corresponding odds ratios were 1.64 (95% CI: 1.02, 2.65) and 1.16 (95% CI: 0.70, 1.94), respectively, for the comparison of participants above and below the median cadmium level. Arsenic exposure and metabolism were consistently associated with both epigenetic markers in cross-sectional and prospective analyses. The positive correlation of 5-mC and 5-hmC levels was confirmed in an independent study population.

          Conclusions: Our findings support that both epigenetic measures are related at the population level. The consistent trends in the associations between these two epigenetic modifications and the characteristics evaluated, especially arsenic exposure and metabolism, suggest the need for understanding which of the two measures is a better biomarker for environmental epigenetic effects in future large-scale epidemiologic studies.

          Citation: Tellez-Plaza M, Tang WY, Shang Y, Umans JG, Francesconi KA, Goessler W, Ledesma M, Leon M, Laclaustra M, Pollak J, Guallar E, Cole SA, Fallin MD, Navas-Acien A. 2014. Association of global DNA methylation and global DNA hydroxymethylation with metals and other exposures in human blood DNA samples. Environ Health Perspect 122:946–954;  http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1306674

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          Most cited references68

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          Metals, toxicity and oxidative stress.

          Metal-induced toxicity and carcinogenicity, with an emphasis on the generation and role of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, is reviewed. Metal-mediated formation of free radicals causes various modifications to DNA bases, enhanced lipid peroxidation, and altered calcium and sulfhydryl homeostasis. Lipid peroxides, formed by the attack of radicals on polyunsaturated fatty acid residues of phospholipids, can further react with redox metals finally producing mutagenic and carcinogenic malondialdehyde, 4-hydroxynonenal and other exocyclic DNA adducts (etheno and/or propano adducts). Whilst iron (Fe), copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), vanadium (V) and cobalt (Co) undergo redox-cycling reactions, for a second group of metals, mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd) and nickel (Ni), the primary route for their toxicity is depletion of glutathione and bonding to sulfhydryl groups of proteins. Arsenic (As) is thought to bind directly to critical thiols, however, other mechanisms, involving formation of hydrogen peroxide under physiological conditions, have been proposed. The unifying factor in determining toxicity and carcinogenicity for all these metals is the generation of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. Common mechanisms involving the Fenton reaction, generation of the superoxide radical and the hydroxyl radical appear to be involved for iron, copper, chromium, vanadium and cobalt primarily associated with mitochondria, microsomes and peroxisomes. However, a recent discovery that the upper limit of "free pools" of copper is far less than a single atom per cell casts serious doubt on the in vivo role of copper in Fenton-like generation of free radicals. Nitric oxide (NO) seems to be involved in arsenite-induced DNA damage and pyrimidine excision inhibition. Various studies have confirmed that metals activate signalling pathways and the carcinogenic effect of metals has been related to activation of mainly redox-sensitive transcription factors, involving NF-kappaB, AP-1 and p53. Antioxidants (both enzymatic and non-enzymatic) provide protection against deleterious metal-mediated free radical attacks. Vitamin E and melatonin can prevent the majority of metal-mediated (iron, copper, cadmium) damage both in vitro systems and in metal-loaded animals. Toxicity studies involving chromium have shown that the protective effect of vitamin E against lipid peroxidation may be associated rather with the level of non-enzymatic antioxidants than the activity of enzymatic antioxidants. However, a very recent epidemiological study has shown that a daily intake of vitamin E of more than 400 IU increases the risk of death and should be avoided. While previous studies have proposed a deleterious pro-oxidant effect of vitamin C (ascorbate) in the presence of iron (or copper), recent results have shown that even in the presence of redox-active iron (or copper) and hydrogen peroxide, ascorbate acts as an antioxidant that prevents lipid peroxidation and does not promote protein oxidation in humans in vitro. Experimental results have also shown a link between vanadium and oxidative stress in the etiology of diabetes. The impact of zinc (Zn) on the immune system, the ability of zinc to act as an antioxidant in order to reduce oxidative stress and the neuroprotective and neurodegenerative role of zinc (and copper) in the etiology of Alzheimer's disease is also discussed. This review summarizes recent findings in the metal-induced formation of free radicals and the role of oxidative stress in the carcinogenicity and toxicity of metals.
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            Uncovering the role of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine in the epigenome.

            Just over 2 years ago, TET1 was found to catalyse the oxidation of 5-methylcytosine, a well-known epigenetic mark, into 5-hydroxymethylcytosine in mammalian DNA. The exciting prospect of a novel epigenetic modification that may dynamically regulate DNA methylation has led to the rapid accumulation of publications from a wide array of fields, from biochemistry to stem cell biology. Although we have only started to scratch the surface, interesting clues on the role of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine are quickly emerging.
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              Genome-wide profiling of 5-formylcytosine reveals its roles in epigenetic priming.

              TET proteins oxidize 5-methylcytosine (5mC) to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), 5-formylcytosine (5fC), and 5-carboxylcytosine (5caC). 5fC and 5caC are excised by mammalian DNA glycosylase TDG, implicating 5mC oxidation in DNA demethylation. Here, we show that the genomic locations of 5fC can be determined by coupling chemical reduction with biotin tagging. Genome-wide mapping of 5fC in mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) reveals that 5fC preferentially occurs at poised enhancers among other gene regulatory elements. Application to Tdg null mESCs further suggests that 5fC production coordinates with p300 in remodeling epigenetic states of enhancers. This process, which is not influenced by 5hmC, appears to be associated with further oxidation of 5hmC and commitment to demethylation through 5fC. Finally, we resolved 5fC at base resolution by hydroxylamine-based protection from bisulfite-mediated deamination, thereby confirming sites of 5fC accumulation. Our results reveal roles of active 5mC/5hmC oxidation and TDG-mediated demethylation in epigenetic tuning at regulatory elements. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Environ Health Perspect
                Environ. Health Perspect
                EHP
                Environmental Health Perspectives
                NLM-Export
                0091-6765
                1552-9924
                25 April 2014
                September 2014
                : 122
                : 9
                : 946-954
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Department of Epidemiology,
                [2 ]Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology and Clinical Research, and
                [3 ]Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
                [4 ]Fundacion de Investigacion del Hospital Clinico de Valencia-INCLIVA, Valencia, Spain
                [5 ]Department of Respiratory Disease, Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
                [6 ]MedStar Health Research Institute, Hyattsville, Maryland, USA
                [7 ]Georgetown-Howard Universities Center for Clinical and Translational Science, Washington, DC, USA
                [8 ]Institute of Chemistry–Analytical Chemistry, Karl-Franzens University, Graz, Austria
                [9 ]Aragon Health Sciences Institute, Zaragoza, Spain
                [10 ]Department of Epidemiology, Atherothrombosis and Imaging, National Center of Cardiovascular Research-CNIC, Madrid, Spain
                [11 ]Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
                [12 ]Department of Genetics, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas, USA
                Author notes
                Address correspondence to M.Tellez-Plaza, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe St., Room W7513D, Baltimore, MD 21205 USA. Telephone: (410) 502-4267. E-mail: mtellezp@ 123456jhsph.edu
                Article
                ehp.1306674
                10.1289/ehp.1306674
                4154208
                24769358
                26247434-078c-4d71-9bf2-3a016cec99e6

                Publication of EHP lies in the public domain and is therefore without copyright. All text from EHP may be reprinted freely. Use of materials published in EHP should be acknowledged (for example, “Reproduced with permission from Environmental Health Perspectives”); pertinent reference information should be provided for the article from which the material was reproduced. Articles from EHP, especially the News section, may contain photographs or illustrations copyrighted by other commercial organizations or individuals that may not be used without obtaining prior approval from the holder of the copyright.

                History
                : 19 February 2013
                : 22 April 2014
                : 25 April 2014
                : 01 September 2014
                Categories
                Research

                Public health
                Public health

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