Abstract Several engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) are used in toner-based printing equipment (TPE) including laser printers and photocopiers to improve toner performance. High concentration of airborne nanoparticles due to TPE emissions has been documented in copy centers and chamber studies. Recent animal inhalation studies by our group suggested exposure to laser printer-emitted nanoparticles (PEPs) increased cardiovascular risk by impairing ventricular performance and inducing hypertension and arrhythmia, consistent with global transcriptomic and metabolomic profiling results. There has been no genome-wide transcriptomic analysis of workers exposed to TPE emissions to systematically assess the occupational exposure health risks. In this pilot study, deep RNA sequencing of blood samples of workers in two printing companies in Singapore was performed. The genome-scale analysis of the blood samples from TPE exposed workers revealed perturbed transcriptional activities related to inflammatory and immune responses, metabolism, cardiovascular impairment, neurological diseases, oxidative stress, physical morphogenesis/deformation, and cancer, when compared with the control peers (office workers). Many of these disease risks associated with particle inhalation exposures in such work environments were consistent with the observation from the PEPs rat inhalation studies. In particular, the cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) was a top significantly perturbed pathway in blood samples from exposed workers compared with the office workers in both companies. The protein expression of sICAM was verified in plasma of exposed workers, showing a positive correlation with daily average nanoparticle concentration in indoor air measured in these two companies. Larger scale genomic and molecular epidemiology studies in copier operators are warranted in order to assess potential risks from such particulate matter exposures.

中文翻译：

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对新加坡印刷业工人血液样本进行深度 RNA 测序以进行职业风险评估

摘要 几种工程纳米材料 (ENM) 用于基于墨粉的打印设备 (TPE)，包括激光打印机和复印机，以提高墨粉性能。复制中心和腔室研究已记录了由于 TPE 排放导致的高浓度空气中纳米粒子。我们小组最近的动物吸入研究表明，暴露于激光打印机发射的纳米粒子 (PEP) 会通过损害心室功能并诱发高血压和心律失常而增加心血管风险，这与全球转录组学和代谢组学分析结果一致。没有对暴露于 TPE 排放物的工人进行全基因组转录组分析来系统评估职业暴露健康风险。在这项试点研究中，对新加坡两家印刷公司工人的血液样本进行了深度 RNA 测序。与对照组相比，TPE 暴露工人的血液样本的基因组规模分析揭示了与炎症和免疫反应、新陈代谢、心血管损伤、神经系统疾病、氧化应激、身体形态发生/变形和癌症相关的转录活动受到干扰。上班族）。许多与此类工作环境中颗粒吸入暴露相关的疾病风险与 PEP 大鼠吸入研究的观察结果一致。特别是，与两家公司的上班族相比，细胞粘附分子 (CAMs) 是暴露工人血液样本中最显着扰动的通路。sICAM 的蛋白质表达在暴露工人的血浆中得到验证，显示与这两家公司测量的室内空气中每日平均纳米颗粒浓度呈正相关。需要对复印机操作员进行更大规模的基因组和分子流行病学研究，以评估此类颗粒物暴露的潜在风险。