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Gene expression changes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in occupational exposure to nickel
Author(s) -
Bonin Serena,
Larese Francesca Filon,
Trevisan Giusto,
Avian Andrea,
Rui Francesca,
Stanta Giorgio,
Bovenzi Massimo
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
experimental dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.108
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1600-0625
pISSN - 0906-6705
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0625.2010.01162.x
Subject(s) - nickel allergy , peripheral blood mononuclear cell , immunology , gene expression , gene , medicine , allergy , contact dermatitis , real time polymerase chain reaction , signal transduction , nickel , biology , chemistry , genetics , organic chemistry , in vitro
Allergic contact dermatitis is preceded by a clinically silent phase of sensitisation. In this study, we investigated whether the expression levels of six genes were related to nickel exposure and/or nickel sensitisation, and whether they could predict allergic manifestations to nickel. The mRNA expression level of six genes involved in cell growth (PIM1 and ETS2), metabolism/synthesis (HSD11B1 and PRDX4), apoptosis (CASP8) and signal transduction (CISH) was investigated by means of quantitative real‐time RT‐PCR in a cohort of 110 subjects, including healthy controls ( n = 51), nickel‐exposed workers ( n = 23) and patients allergic to nickel ( n = 36). Our findings show that the expression levels of the analysed genes did not differ between allergic patients and healthy controls, while higher expression levels of ETS2 and CASP8 were detected in the nickel‐exposed workers. Changes in ETS2 and CASP8 expression are likely to be related to nickel exposure rather than to allergy.