ABSTRACT
Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of AGTR1 promoter methylation with the risk of essential hypertension (EH),and to explore whether the methylation levels of AGTR1 were influenced by antihypertensive drug therapy.Methods In the current case-control study,with community population-based multi-stage sampling method,a total of 288 individuals including 96 controls,96 gender-and age-matched incidence essential hypertension(In-EH) patients and 96 gender-and age-matched prevalent essential hypertension(Pre-EH) patients were recruited from Han Chinese families in Ningbo City.The baseline data,blood samples and serum biochemical indexes of participants were obtained through questionnaire,conventional check-up and laboratory detection.Methylation levels of CpGdinucleotides in genepromoter of AGTR1 were measured using bisulfite pyrosequencing.Conditional logistic regression was used to adjust for confounding factors,and find the CpG sites which were sensitive to EH and drug.Results Body mass index,triglycerides,fasting blood glucose,high-density lipoprotein and uric acid among the three groups were significantly different (P ＜ 0.05).Conditional logistic regression showed that methylation of CpG1 was significantly lower in both In-EH and Pre-EH than in controls (Controls vs.In-EH):9.66 ± 5.45 vs.6.74 ± 4.32,OR =0.888,95 ％ CI:0.792-0.995;(Controls vs.Pre-EH):9.66 ± 5.45 vs.4.99 ± 3.97,OR =0.454,95 ％ CI:0.226-0.913.No significant result was observed between In-EH and Pre-EH (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion Hypomethylation of CpG1 in AGTR1 gene is a risk factor for EH.However,no effect of antihyptensive drug therapy on the changes of DNA methylation levels in AGTR1 was found.
ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the health effects on practitioners occupationally exposed to acrylonitrile and to provide scientific bases for the study of toxicological effects of acrylonitrile on human bodies. Methods 465 medical practitioners exposed to acrylonitrile and ( a control group of ) 488 medical practitioners unexposed to acrylonitrile were selected .Age, smoking habits , alcoholic habits and other relevant factors are well-considered in selecting these two groups and all of them had lived in Ningbo for at least three years .Blood samples were collected to measure the level of Alanine aminotransferase ( ALT) , aspartate aminotransferase ( AST ) , alkaline phosphatase ( ALP ) , pancreatic acyl transferase (GGT), total bilirubin (STB), blood urea (UREA), blood uric acid (UA), serum creatinine (SCr), total protein ( TP ) , albumin ( Alb ) , globulin ( Glb ) , ratio of Alb to Glb ( A/G ) , white blood cell ( WBC ) , red blood cell ( RBC ) , platelet ( PLT ) and hemoglobin ( Hb ) .These serum biochemical indices of the two groups were compared to find the differences thereof and to examine the effect of work years on various above-mentioned indices for medical practitioners exposed to acrylonitrile . Results The levels of ALT(t=-2.77,P=0.006), AST(t=-5.74,P<0.001), UREA(t=3.51,P<0.001), UA (t=-3.51,P<0.001)and SCr(t=-7.62,P<0.001)for medical practitioners exposed to acrylonitrile were all significantly higher than those for the control group; however, the levels of ALP(t=18.87,P<0.001), Alb(t=6.92,P<0.001), Glb(t=7.99,P<0.001), A/G(t=11.93,P<0.001), and WBC (t=4.48,P<0.001) were all lower than those for the control group , with the exposure time exhibiting positive correlations with ALT(r=0.564,P<0.001)and AST(r=0.493,P<0.001). Conclusion Acrylonitrile has certain health effects on the hepatorenal function as well as the routine blood test results of medical practitioners occupationally exposed to acrylonitrile .