Identification of gene expression predictors of occupational benzene exposure

BackgroundPreviously, using microarrays and mRNA-Sequencing (mRNA-Seq) we found that occupational exposure to a range of benzene levels perturbed gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells.ObjectivesIn the current study, we sought to identify gene expression biomarkers predictive of benzene exposure below 1 part per million (ppm), the occupational standard in the U.S.MethodsFirst, we used the nCounter platform to validate altered expression of 30 genes in 33 unexposed controls and 57 subjects exposed to benzene (ResultsnCounter and microarray expression levels were highly correlated (coefficients >0.7, p0.9 (pPRG2/CLEC5A, NFKBI/CLEC5A, and ACSL1/CLEC5A. They play roles in innate immunity and inflammatory responses.ConclusionsUsing nCounter and SL, we validated the altered expression of multiple mRNAs by benzene and identified gene pairs predictive of exposure to benzene at levels below the US occupational standard of 1ppm.