MIT Superfund Research Program, Department of Biological Engineering, Center for Environmental Health Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Environ Mol Mutagen. 2021 Jun;62(5):288-292. doi: 10.1002/em.22434. Epub 2021 Jun 2.
Exposure to N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) has recently been linked to a childhood cancer cluster in Wilmington, MA, which is home to the Olin Chemical Superfund Site. When it was discovered in the 1990's that 22 children in a town of under 22,000 people got cancer, the community took action and pressed for an investigation into the possibility that chemicals from the Olin Chemical site had contaminated their water. This led to the eventual discovery that NDMA was present in the town water supply. NDMA has long been known for its potent carcinogenicity in animal models, and so the community pointed to NDMA as a possible cause. This led to an investigation by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, which, in 2021, released its findings showing an association between NDMA exposure in utero and childhood cancer. The mission of the NIEHS Superfund Research Program is to protect human health from hazardous substances. In 2017, in response to community concerns, a team at MIT created the MIT Superfund Research Program Center with a focus on research related to NDMA. Just 1 week prior to the release of the Department of Public Health study, the MIT Superfund Research Program Center published a manuscript in Cell Reports that identifies the Alkyladenine DNA glycosylase (AAG) as a possible genetic susceptibility factor. This commentary provides an author's perspective on the context and implications of this and related research.
最近，接触 N-亚硝基二甲胺（NDMA）与马萨诸塞州威尔明顿的儿童癌症群集有关联，该地区是奥林化学超级基金场址的所在地。当 20 世纪 90 年代发现这个不到 22000 人口的城镇有 22 名儿童患癌症时，社区采取了行动，并强烈要求对奥林化学场址的化学物质是否污染了他们的水进行调查。这最终导致发现 NDMA 存在于城镇供水中。NDMA 在动物模型中具有很强的致癌性，因此社区将其作为可能的原因之一。这导致马萨诸塞州公共卫生部进行了调查，该部在 2021 年发布了调查结果，显示 NDMA 暴露与儿童癌症之间存在关联。国家环境卫生科学研究所超级基金研究计划的使命是保护人类健康免受有害物质的侵害。2017 年，为了回应社区的担忧，麻省理工学院的一个团队成立了麻省理工学院超级基金研究计划中心，专注于与 NDMA 相关的研究。就在公共卫生部研究报告发布前一周，麻省理工学院超级基金研究计划中心在《细胞报告》上发表了一篇论文，该论文确定烷基腺嘌呤 DNA 糖基化酶（AAG）为可能的遗传易感性因素。这篇评论提供了作者对这篇论文及其相关研究的背景和意义的看法。
