Environnement, Risques & Santé
MENUGenes targeted by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as biomarkers of exposure Volume 10, issue 3, Mai-Juin 2011
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- Key words: biomarkers, genes, polycyclic hydrocarbons, aromatic
- DOI : 10.1684/ers.2011.0458
- Page(s) : 195-9
- Published in: 2011
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), such as benzo( a)pyrene (B aP), are ubiquitous environmental contaminants known to exert a variety of toxic effects – carcinogenic, immunosuppressive, or proinflammatory – on the human body. Among the target of PAHs are mature differentiated macrophages that express a functional aryl hydrocarbon receptor. Because the exact nature of molecular PAHs target genes in human macrophages remains largely undetermined, we used pangenomic oligonucleotide microarrays to analyse gene expression profiles of B aP-treated primary human macrophages. This study presents target genes within macrophages that are induced by B aP, such as interleukin 1β and cytochrome P450 1B1, have little interindividual variation in primary human macrophagic cultures, and are similarly up-regulated in alveolar macrophages from B aP-instilled rats. Different PAHs induce specific target genes, a specificity that suggests that they may be good candidates for monitoring in vivo exposure to these PAHs.