Adaptation of the human population to the environment: Current knowledge, clues from Czech cytogenetic and “omics” biomonitoring studies and possible mechanisms

Publication date: July–September 2017 Source:Mutation Research/Reviews in Mutation Research, Volume 773 Author(s): Andrea Rossnerova, Michaela Pokorna, Vlasta Svecova, Radim J. Sram, Jan Topinka, Friedo Zölzer, Pavel Rossner The human population is continually exposed to numerous harmful environmental stressors, causing negative health effects and/or deregulation of biomarker levels. However, studies reporting no or even positive impacts of some stressors on humans are also sometimes published. The main aim of this review is to provide a comprehensive overview of the last decade of Czech biomonitoring research, concerning the effect of various levels of air pollution (benzo[a]pyrene) and radiation (uranium, X-ray examination and natural radon background), on the differently exposed population groups. Because some results obtained from cytogenetic studies were opposite than hypothesized, we have searched for a meaningful interpretation in genomic/epigenetic studies. A detailed analysis of our data supported by the studies of others and current epigenetic knowledge, leads to a hypothesis of the versatile mechanism of adaptation to environmental stressors via DNA methylation settings which may even originate in prenatal development, and help to reduce the resulting DNA damage levels. This hypothesis is fully in agreement with unexpected data from our studies (e.g. lower levels of DNA damage in subjects from highly polluted regions than in controls or in subjects expo...
Source: Mutation Research Reviews in Mutation Research - Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: research