Inter-individual variations in DNA repair capacity (DRC) for repairing pesticide-induced DNA oxidation damage may influence adverse health outcomes. We aimed to evaluate whether polymorphisms in genes involved in nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway could modulate DNA damage in pesticide-exposed agricultural workers. Xeroderma pigmentosum group F (XPF) (Arg415Gln, G1244A, rs1800067), xeroderma pigmentosum group G (XPG) (Asp1104His, G3507C, rs17655), excision repair cross complementation group 1 (ERCC1) (3′UTR, C8092A, rs3212986) and ERCC1 (Asn118Asn, C19007T, rs11615) polymorphisms were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) technique in 225 pesticide-exposed agricultural workers and 225 controls from Punjab, North-West India. The assessment of DNA damage was carried out by alkaline comet assay. Kruskal-Wallis test was used to evaluate the association of gene polymorphisms in NER pathway with DNA damage. Pesticide-exposed agricultural workers carrying variant XPF Gln/Gln (AA) genotype showed higher comet tail length (p < 0.01) than wild type Arg/Arg (GG) genotype. The comet tail length (p < 0.01) was found to be significantly increased in exposed agricultural workers carrying XPG His/His (CC) genotype than wild-type Asp/Asp (GG) genotype. In relation to the individuals carrying wild type ERCC1 3′UTR CC genotype, exposed individuals with variant ERCC1 3′UTR CA genotype showed elevation in the comet tail length (p = 0.029). However, we found no association of ERCC1 Asn118Asn (C19007T) genotype with DNA damage. These results indicate that XPF, XPG and ERCC1 genes of NER pathway may modulate the efficacy of the DNA repair system against pesticide exposure in our population.

用于修复农药引起的 DNA 氧化损伤的 DNA 修复能力 (DRC) 的个体差异可能会影响不利的健康结果。我们旨在评估参与核苷酸切除修复 (NER) 途径的基因的多态性是否可以调节接触农药的农业工人的 DNA 损伤。着色性干皮组F（XPF）（Arg415Gln，G1244A，rs1800067），着色性干皮组G（XPG）（Asp1104His，G3507C，rs17655），切除修复交叉互补组1（ERCC1）（3'UTR，C8092A，rs3212986）和ERCC1(Asn118Asn、C19007T、rs11615) 多态性通过聚合酶链反应限制性片段长度多态性 (PCR-RFLP) 技术在来自印度西北部旁遮普邦的 225 名接触农药的农业工人和 225 名对照中进行分析。DNA损伤的评估是通过碱性彗星试验进行的。Kruskal-Wallis 检验用于评估 NER 通路中基因多态性与 DNA 损伤的关联。携带变异XPF Gln/Gln (AA) 基因型的农药暴露农业工人显示出比野生型 Arg/Arg (GG) 基因型更高的彗尾长度（p < 0.01）。发现携带XPG 的暴露农业工人的彗尾长度 (p < 0.01) 显着增加His/His (CC) 基因型高于野生型 Asp/Asp (GG) 基因型。与携带野生型ERCC1 3'UTR CC 基因型的个体相比，具有变异ERCC1 3'UTR CA 基因型的暴露个体显示彗尾长度升高（p = 0.029）。然而，我们发现ERCC1 Asn118Asn (C19007T) 基因型与 DNA 损伤没有关联。这些结果表明NER 途径的XPF、XPG和ERCC1基因可能调节 DNA 修复系统对我们人群中农药暴露的功效。