Research Watch, Benzene, February 2007

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TITLE: "Changes in DNA Methylation Patterns in Subjects Exposed to Low-Dose Benzene"

AUTHORS: Bollati V, Baccarelli A, Hou L, Bonzini M, Fustinoni S, Cavallo D, Byun HM, Jiang J, Marinelli B, Pesatori AC, Bertazzi PA, Yang AS.

JOURNAL: Advances in Cancer Research. 2007 Feb 1;67(3):876-80.

SUMMARY: Aberrant DNA methylation patterns, including global hypomethylation, gene-specific hypermethylation/hypomethylation, and loss of imprinting (LOI), are common in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and other cancer tissues. The authors of the study investigated for the first time whether such epigenetic changes are induced in healthy subjects by low-level exposure to benzene, a …