Epigenetic Liver Damage: Study Reveals Clues Implicating 1,3-Butadiene

摘要

The petroleum-derived substance 1,3-butadiene is a known human carcinogen that is a significant contributor to cancer risk in the United States. There is evidence it causes liver, heart, lung, and hematopoietic cancers in rodents through genetic damage. But some researchers suspect it also may induce changes through other pathways, including epigenetic alterations, which occur when the function of a gene is altered while its DNA sequence remains stable. A new study provides further evidence 1,3-butadiene may indeed cause epigenetic damage [EHP 119(5):635–640; Koturbash et al.].