HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: clinchem.2004.037788v1 50/11/2012    most recent Submit an electronic Letter to the Editor about this paper Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (6) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Fortunato, G. Articles by Sacchetti, L. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Fortunato, G. Articles by Sacchetti, L. Related Collections Molecular Diagnostics and Genetics

Paraoxonase and Superoxide Dismutase Gene Polymorphisms and Noise-Induced Hearing Loss

¹ Dipartimento di Biochimica e Biotecnologie Mediche, Università di Napoli Federico II and CEINGE scarl, Napoli, Italy.
² Dipartimento di Neuroscienze e Scienze del Comportamento, Università di Napoli Federico II, Napoli, Italy.
³ Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie per l’Ambiente e il Territorio, Facoltà di Scienze MM FF NN, Università del Molise, Isernia, Italy.
⁴ Fondazione Salvatore Maugeri, IRCCS Istituto di Campoli Telese, Benevento, Italy.
⁵ Alenia Aereonautica, Stabilimento Pomigliano D’Arco, Napoli, Italy.

^aAddress correspondence to this author at: Dipartimento di Biochimica e Biotecnologie Mediche, Università di Napoli Federico II and CEINGE scarl, via S. Pansini 5, 80131 Napoli, Italy. Fax 39-081-7462404; e-mail sacchetti{at}dbbm.unina.it.

Background: Noise-induced cochlear epithelium damage can cause hearing loss in industrial workers. In experimental systems, noise induces the release of free radicals and may damage the cochlear sensorial epithelium. Therefore, genes involved in regulating the reactive oxygen species manganese-superoxide dismutase (SOD2) and the antioxidant paraoxonase (PON) could influence cochlea vulnerability to noise. We evaluated whether susceptibility to noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is associated with SOD2, PON1, and PON2 polymorphisms in workers exposed to prolonged loud noise.

Methods: We enrolled 94 male workers from an aircraft factory in the study. The SOD2 gene was screened by denaturing reversed-phase HPLC, and the PON1 (Q192R and M55L) and PON2 (S311C) polymorphisms were analyzed by PCR amplification followed by digestion with restriction endonucleases.

Results: Three known (A16V, IVS3-23T/G, and IVS3-60T/G) and two new SOD2 polymorphisms (IVS1+ 8A/G and IVS3+107T/A) were identified. Regression analysis showed that PON2 (SC+CC) [odds ratio (OR) = 5.01; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.11–22.54], SOD2 IVS3-23T/G and IVS3-60T/G (OR = 5.09; 95% CI, 1.27–20.47), age (OR = 1.22; 95% CI, 1.09–1.36), and smoking (OR = 49.49; 95% CI, 5.09–480.66) were associated with NIHL. No association was detected for PON1 (QQ+RR) and PON1 (LL) genotypes.

Conclusions: Our data suggest that SOD2 and PON2 polymorphisms, by exerting variable local tissue antioxidant roles, could predispose to NIHL. However, caution should be exercised in interpreting these data given the small sample size and the difficulty in matching cases to controls regarding the overwhelming risk factor, i.e., smoking at least 10 cigarettes/day.

The following articles in journals at HighWire Press have cited this article:

				G. Fortunato, M. D. Di Taranto, U. M. Bracale, L. Del Guercio, F. Carbone, C. Mazzaccara, A. Morgante, F. P. D'Armiento, M. D'Armiento, M. Porcellini, et al. Decreased Paraoxonase-2 Expression in Human Carotids During the Progression of Atherosclerosis Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol., March 1, 2008; 28(3): 594 - 600. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]