[Epigenetic effects as mediators of procoagulant action of thin dust with high metal content. Study on occupational epidemiology].

Blood hypo-methylation mediates the effects of metal-rich airborne particles on blood coagulation: An occupational epidemiological study. Particulate matter (PM) exposure is associated with increased coagulation and thrombosis, but the biological mechanism has not yet been clarified. DNA methylation represents a potential mechanism because it can be modified by environmental factors. Foundry workers are exposed to PM components and showed increased cardiovascular risk. In a group of 63 steel workers we found that PM and zinc airborne levels were negatively associated with leukocyte DNA methylation in genes NOS3 and ET-1 (b = -1.1; p = 0.002 and b = -1.5; p = 0.003, for zinc exposure respectively in multivariate regression models; b = -0.9 with p = 0.01 for PM10 exposure and NOS3) and in turn, DNA hypo-methylation resulted associated with increased Endogenous Thrombin Potential (for NOS3 b = -45.0, p = 0.001; and for ET-1 b = -16.4, p = 0.03). Our study based on healthy subject exposed in occupational setting, suggests that gene specific hypomethylation contributes to environmentally-induced hypercoagulability.