Department of Public Health and Institute of Public Health, Chung Shan Medical University, No. 110 Sec. 1 Jianguo N. Road, Taichung City, 40201, Taiwan.
School of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung City, Taiwan.
Clin Epigenetics. 2019 Mar 12;11(1):46. doi: 10.1186/s13148-019-0647-8.
Both SOX2 promoter methylation and air pollution have been associated with lung cancer risk. However, little has been done to assess SOX2 promoter methylation in individuals living in air pollution areas. The aim of this study was to investigate SOX2 promoter methylation in non-smoking Taiwanese adults living in areas with different levels of air pollution especially particulate matter with diameter < 2.5 μm (PM).
A total of 1142 individuals aged 30-70 years were recruited. Data on SOX2 methylation, residence, age, and exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS) among others were extracted from the Taiwan Biobank dataset (2008-2015). After excluding former and current smokers, alongside those with incomplete information, a total of 461 non-smokers comprising 176 men and 285 women were included in the study. Participants' residences were grouped under northern and central/southern areas because air pollution (PM) is lower in northern compared to central and southern areas.
The methylation levels in men (0.16310 ± 0.01230) and women (0.15740 ± 0.01240) were significantly different (P < .0001). In both sexes, the SOX2 promoter region was shown to be significantly hypermethylated in central and southern areas compared with the northern areas. The regression coefficient (β) was 0.00331 (P = 0.0257) in men and 0.00514 (P < .0001) in women.
SOX2 was significantly hypermethylated in both men and women residing in central and southern areas. The consistency in the results for both sexes shows that SOX2 promoter methylation could serve as a potential biomarker for industrial air pollution exposure. Moreover, it might reflect predisposition to cancer. Hence, healthy non-smokers at precancerous stages who have not been clinically diagnosed could be identified.
SOX2 启动子甲基化和空气污染都与肺癌风险相关。然而，对于生活在空气污染地区的个体，评估 SOX2 启动子甲基化的研究很少。本研究旨在调查生活在不同空气污染水平地区（特别是直径<2.5μm 的颗粒物（PM））的非吸烟台湾成年人中 SOX2 启动子甲基化情况。
共招募了 1142 名年龄在 30-70 岁的个体。从 2008-2015 年的台湾生物银行数据库中提取了 SOX2 甲基化、居住情况、年龄以及二手烟暴露等数据。在排除了既往和当前吸烟者以及信息不全的个体后，共有 461 名非吸烟者纳入本研究，其中包括 176 名男性和 285 名女性。根据居住地，将参与者分为北部和中/南部地区，因为北部的空气污染（PM）低于中南部。
男性（0.16310±0.01230）和女性（0.15740±0.01240）的甲基化水平差异具有统计学意义（P<0.0001）。在两性中，与北部地区相比，中南部地区的 SOX2 启动子区域均显示出显著的过度甲基化。男性的回归系数（β）为 0.00331（P=0.0257），女性的回归系数为 0.00514（P<0.0001）。
生活在中南部地区的男性和女性中，SOX2 均显著过度甲基化。两性结果的一致性表明，SOX2 启动子甲基化可以作为工业空气污染暴露的潜在生物标志物。此外，它可能反映了癌症易感性。因此，可以识别处于癌前阶段且未被临床诊断的健康非吸烟者。
