职业铝暴露工人外周血铝浓度与miR-134-3p表达水平的关联

Correlation between aluminum concentration and miR-134-3p expression in peripheral blood in occupational aluminum exposed workers

[背景]研究表明铝暴露会导致miRNA-134-3p表达升高,与铝致学习记忆损害机制有关。但职业铝暴露工人外周血中miRNA-134-3p表达水平是否与血铝浓度存在关联性尚无报道。[目的]探讨职业铝暴露工人外周血铝浓度与miR-134-3p表达水平的关联性。[方法]采用整群抽样的方法选取山西某铝厂电解铝车间、氧化铝车间及热电车间的在岗男性铝作业工人共184人,将其按血铝浓度四分位数分为4组(Q1~Q4),每组46人。采用问卷调查的方式收集工人基本信息,采用《蒙特利尔认知评估量表》(MoCA)评价工人的认知能力。收集工人血浆,采用实时定量聚合酶链反应检测工人血浆miR-134-3p的相对表达水平,采用电感耦合等离子体质谱法检测其血浆铝浓度。采用广义线性模型分析工人外周血铝浓度、血浆miR-134-3p表达水平和MoCA总分三者之间的关系。[结果]工人血铝浓度、血浆miR-134-3p相对表达水平和MoCA总分M(P25,P75)分别为39.31(25.30,57.41)μg·L-1、2.93(2.29,3.74)和22.0(20.0,26.0)分。广义线性模型结果显示:在调整年龄、体质量指数、吸烟、饮酒等混杂因素后,与Q1组相比,Q2、Q3、Q4组工人血铝对其血浆miR-134-3p表达水平及MoCA总分均有影响(P值均<0.05)。随血铝浓度的增加,工人血浆miR-134-3p表达水平逐渐增高,呈正相关(b>0,P趋势<0.001);随血铝浓度的增加,MoCA总分逐渐下降,呈负相关(b<0,P趋势<0.001);随着血浆miR-134-3p表达水平增加,MoCA总分逐渐下降,呈负相关(b<0,P趋势<0.001)。文化程度中,初中及以下组和高中组工人血铝水平与血浆miR-134-3p水平存在线性关系(P趋势<0.05),b(95%CI)分别为1.796(1.248~2.344)、1.192(0.874~1.510),大专及以上组工人中未发现有线性关系(P趋势>0.05)。[结论]职业铝暴露会导致工人血浆miR-134-3p表达水平升高,可能与其所致工人认知功能降低有关。

[Background]Previous studies show that aluminum exposure could increase the expression of miRNA-134-3p,which is involved in the mechanism of aluminum induced learning and memory impairment.However,it has not been investigated whether the expression level of miRNA-134-3p in the peripheral blood of occupational aluminum exposed workers is related to the blood aluminum concentration yet.[Objective]To evaluate a potential correlation between aluminum concentration in peripheral blood and miR-134-3p expression in occupational aluminum exposed workers.[Methods]A total of 184 male aluminum workers in the electrolytic aluminum workshop,aluminum oxide workshop,and thermal power workshop of an aluminum plant in Shanxi were selected by cluster sampling.They were divided into four groups(Q1-Q4)according to the quartiles of blood aluminum concentration,with 46 workers in each group.The basic information of workers was collected by questionnaire survey,and the cognitive function of workers was evaluated by Montreal Cognitive Assessment(MoCA).The plasma of workers was collected,and the relative expression level of miR-134-3p in plasma was detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR).The plasma aluminum concentration was detected by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry(ICP-MS).The associations among workers'peripheral blood aluminum concentration,plasma miR-134-3p expression level,and total MoCA score were evaluated by generalized linear models.[Results]The workers'medians(P25,P75)of blood aluminum concentration,plasma relative expression level of miR-134-3p,and MoCA score were 39.31(25.30,57.41)μg·L-1,2.93(2.29,3.74),and 22.0(20.0,26.0),respectively.The results of the generalized linear model showed that after adjusting for age,body mass index,smoking,and alcohol consumption,compared with the Q1 group,blood aluminum in the Q2,Q3,or Q4 group had an impact on related plasma miR-134-3p expression level and total MoCA score(P<0.05).With increasing blood aluminum concentration,the expression level of miR-134-3p in workers'plasma gradually increased,showing a positive correlation(b>0,Ptrend<0.001),while the total score of MoCA gradually decreased,showing a negative correlation(b<0,Ptrend<0.001).As the expression level of miR-134-3p in plasma increased,the total score of MoCA gradually decreased,showing a negative correlation(b<0,Ptrend<0.001).There was a linear relationship between peripheral blood aluminum concentration and plasma relative expression level of miR-134-3p of the workers in the middle school and below group and the high school group(Ptrend<0.05),b(95%CI)=1.796(1.248,2.344)and 1.192(0.874,1.510),and no correlation was found in the workers in the college and above group(Ptrend>0.05).[Conclusion]Occupational aluminum exposure can lead to an increase in the expression level of miR-134-3p in plasma of workers,which may be related to a decrease in cognitive function of workers.