Gene expression network analyses in response to air pollution exposures in the trucking industry

BACKGROUND: Exposure to air pollution, including traffic-related pollutants, has been associated with a variety of adverse health outcomes, including increased cardiopulmonary morbidity and mortality, and increased lung cancer risk. METHODS: To better understand the cellular responses induced by air pollution exposures, we performed genome-wide gene expression microarray analysis using whole blood RNA sampled at three time-points across the work weeks of 63 non-smoking employees at 10 trucking terminals in the northeastern US. We defined genes and gene networks that were differentially activated in response to PM(2.5) (particulate matter ≤ 2.5 microns in diameter) and elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC). RESULTS: Multiple transcripts were strongly associated (p(adj) < 0.001) with pollutant levels (48, 260, and 49 transcripts for EC, OC, and PM(2.5), respectively), including 63 that were statistically significantly correlated with at least two out of the three exposures. These genes included many that have been implicated in ischemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer, and other pollution-related illnesses. Through the combination of Gene Set Enrichment Analysis and network analysis (using GeneMANIA), we identified a core set of 25 interrelated genes that were common to all three exposure measures and were differentially expressed in two previous studies assessing gene expression attributable to air pollution. Many of these are members of fundamental cancer-related pathways, including those related to DNA and metal binding, and regulation of apoptosis and also but include genes implicated in chronic heart and lung diseases. CONCLUSIONS: These data provide a molecular link between the associations of air pollution exposures with health effects. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12940-016-0187-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.