Nuclear receptor and VEGF pathways for gene-blood lead interactions, on bone mineral density, in Korean smokers

PLoS One. 2018 Mar 8;13(3):e0193323. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0193323. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

Osteoporosis has a complex etiology and is considered a multifactorial polygenic disease, in which genetic determinants are modulated by hormonal, lifestyle, environmental, and nutritional factors. Therefore, investigating these multiple factors, and the interactions between them, might lead to a better understanding of osteoporosis pathogenesis, and possible therapeutic interventions. The objective of this study was to identify the relationship between three blood metals (Pb, Cd, and Al), in smoking and nonsmoking patients' sera, and prevalence of osteoporosis. In particular, we focused on gene-environment interactions of metal exposure, including a dataset obtained through genome-wide association study (GWAS). Subsequently, we conducted a pathway-based analysis, using a GWAS dataset, to elucidate how metal exposure influences susceptibility to osteoporosis. In this study, we evaluated blood metal exposures for estimating the prevalence of osteoporosis in 443 participants (aged 53.24 ± 8.29), from the Republic of Korea. Those analyses revealed a negative association between lead blood levels and bone mineral density in current smokers (p trend <0.01). By further using GWAS-based pathway analysis, we found nuclear receptor (FDR<0.05) and VEGF pathways (FDR<0.05) to be significantly upregulated by blood lead burden, with regard to the prevalence of osteoporosis, in current smokers. These findings suggest that the intracellular pathways of angiogenesis and nuclear hormonal signaling can modulate interactions between lead exposure and genetic variation, with regard to susceptibility to diminished bone mineral density. Our findings may provide new leads for understanding the mechanisms underlying the development of osteoporosis, including possible interventions.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Bone Density / genetics*
  • Bone Density / physiology*
  • Disease Susceptibility
  • Environmental Exposure
  • Female
  • Gene-Environment Interaction
  • Genome-Wide Association Study
  • Humans
  • Lead / blood*
  • Linear Models
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Multivariate Analysis
  • Osteoporosis / epidemiology
  • Osteoporosis / genetics
  • Osteoporosis / metabolism
  • Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear / genetics
  • Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear / metabolism
  • Republic of Korea
  • Signal Transduction / genetics
  • Smoking / epidemiology
  • Smoking / genetics*
  • Smoking / metabolism*
  • Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / genetics
  • Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / metabolism

Substances

  • Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear
  • VEGFA protein, human
  • Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A
  • Lead

Grants and funding

This work was supported by a Bio-Synergy Research Project funding award (2013M3A9C4078158), as bestowed by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, through the Korean National Research Foundation and by a grant of the Korea Health Technology R&D Project through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), funded by the Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (HI15C2165).