A Known Environmental Hazard Can Change the Epigenetics of Cells
Published:05 Dec.2023 Source:Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute
An international team of researchers has discovered that formaldehyde, a widely spread pollutant and common metabolite in our body, interferes in the epigenetic programming of the cell. This finding expands the knowledge of formaldehyde, previously considered only as a DNA mutagen, and helps establishing a further link with cancer.
The research has focused on investigating the effects of high concentrations of formaldehyde in the body, a substance already been associated with an increased risk of developing cancer (nasopharyngeal tumours and leukaemia), hepatic degeneration due to fatty liver (steatosis) and asthma. The epigenetic changes caused by the toxic agent could directly contribute to the origin of the mentioned diseases, beyond its known mutagenic properties.
International health authorities are already restricting the use of formaldehyde as much as possible, but there are still areas of work where high levels of it are used, such as in the manufacture of resins, the production of plastic, industrial foundries or the cosmetics industry. In addition, it also originates during the combustion of automobile gasoline and in tobacco smoke, thus, environmental and health policies aimed at reducing our exposure to the characterized substance should be promoted.