For evaluating genotoxic exposure in human populations a number of biomarkers has been successfully applied over the last 30 years to determine early biological effects due to exposure to carcinogens. Despite their success, these early biological effects markers provide limited mechanistic insight, and are unable to detect exposure to non-genotoxic carcinogens. Gene expression profiling forms a promising tool for the development of new biomarkers in blood cells to overcome these limitations. The aim of our research was to identify novel genomics-based candidate markers for genotoxic and non-genotoxic carcinogen exposure. Whole genome gene expression changes were investigated in human blood cells following ex vivo exposure to a range of genotoxic and non-genotoxic carcinogenic compounds using whole genome microarrays. Sets of genes, as well as biological pathways indicative of genotoxic exposure and of non-genotoxic carcinogenic exposure were identified. Furthermore, networks were built using the genotoxic and non-genotoxic genes sets, showing the majority of the genes to be interlinked and revealing distinctive transcription factors for both classes. The identification of these potential candidate marker genes might contribute to the development of genomic based biomakers of genotoxic exposure, and possibly even more importantly biomarkers of exposure to non-genotoxic carcinogens since presently no biomarkers are available.
For analysis of whole genome gene expression by microarray, PBMC from five independent donors per compound were exposed for 20 hours to three concentrations, i.e. the 100% and two serial ten-fold dilutions (10% and 1%), and a DMSO or PBS vehicle control. Exposed samples were always labelled with Cy5, whereas the vehicle control samples were labelled with Cy3, and were competetively hybridized on 4x44K Agilent microarrays.
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