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Formaldehyde and Brain Disorders: A Meta-Analysis and Bioinformatics Approach
- Source :
- Neurotox Res, Neurotoxicity research, vol 39, iss 3
- Publication Year :
- 2021
-
Abstract
- While there is significant investigation and investment in brain and neurodegenerative disease research, current understanding of the etiologies of illnesses like Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and brain cancer remains limited. Environmental exposure to the pollutant formaldehyde, an emerging neurotoxin widely used in industry, is suspected to play a critical role in mediating these disorders, although findings are limited and inconsistent. Focusing on highly exposed groups, we performed a meta-analysis of human epidemiological studies of formaldehyde and neurodegenerative disease (N= 19) or brain tumors (N=12). To assess the biological plausibility of observed associations, we then conducted a bioinformatics analysis using WikiPathways and the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database and identified candidate genes and pathways that may be related to these interactions. We reported the meta-relative risk (meta-RR) of ALS following high exposures to formaldehyde was increased by 78% (meta-RR=1.78, 95% confidence interval, CI 1.20-2.65). Similarly, the meta-RR for brain cancer was increased by 71% (meta-RR=1.71; 95% CI 1.07-2.73) among highly exposed individuals. Multiple sensitivity analyses did not reveal sources of heterogeneity or bias. Our bioinformatics analysis revealed that the oxidative stress genes superoxide dismutase (SOD1, SOD2) and the pro-inflammatory marker tumor necrosis factor (TNF) were identified as the top relevant genes, and the folate metabolism, vitamin B12 metabolism, and the ALS pathways were highly affected by formaldehyde and related to the most brain diseases of interest. Further inquiry revealed the two metabolic pathways are also intimately tied with the formaldehyde cycle. Overall, our bioinformatics analysis supports the link of formaldehyde exposure to ALS or brain tumor reported from our meta-analysis. This new multifactorial approach enabled us to both interrogate the robustness of the epidemiological data and identify genes and pathways that may be involved in these interactions, ultimately lending strong evidence and potential biological plausibility for the association between formaldehyde exposure and brain disease.
- Subjects :
- 0301 basic medicine
Candidate gene
WikiPathways
Disease
Neurodegenerative
Toxicology
Bioinformatics
Neurodegenerative disease
0302 clinical medicine
PARKINSONS-DISEASE
2.1 Biological and endogenous factors
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Aetiology
OLFACTORY DYSFUNCTION
Cancer
Brain Diseases
General Neuroscience
Brain
Neurodegenerative Diseases
Environmental exposure
MULTIPLE-SCLEROSIS
LIPID-PEROXIDATION
ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE
RESPIRATORY SYMPTOMS
Neurological
ENDOGENOUS FORMALDEHYDE
NON-HODGKIN-LYMPHOMA
SOD1
Clinical Sciences
Brain tumor
SOD2
Article
03 medical and health sciences
Rare Diseases
Formaldehyde
Occupational Exposure
Comparative toxicogenomics database
medicine
Genetics
Acquired Cognitive Impairment
Animals
Humans
Human exposures
Neurology & Neurosurgery
business.industry
Prevention
Neurosciences
Computational Biology
Environmental Exposure
medicine.disease
INHALED FORMALDEHYDE
Brain Disorders
030104 developmental biology
RISK-FACTORS
Dementia
Biochemistry and Cell Biology
ALS
Toxicogenomics
business
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Neurotox Res, Neurotoxicity research, vol 39, iss 3
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....782d05c6f097eaff58b29afde7950991