María José Muñoz

Evaluation of DNA damage in an Ecuadorian population exposed to glyphosate

We analyzed the consequences of aerial spraying with glyphosate added to a surfactant solution in the northern part of Ecuador. A total of 24 exposed and 21 unexposed control individuals were investigated using the comet assay. The results showed a higher degree of DNA damage in the exposed group (comet length = 35.5 µm) compared to the control group (comet length = 25.94 µm). These results suggest that in the formulation used during aerial spraying glyphosate had a genotoxic effect on the exposed individuals.

Baseline determination in social, health, and genetic areas in communities affected by glyphosate aerial spraying on the northeastern Ecuadorian border.

Abstract The northeastern Ecuadorian border has undergone aerial spraying with an herbicide mix that contains surfactants and adjuvants, executed by the Colombian Government. The purpose of this study was to diagnose social, health, and genetic aspects of the people affected by glyphosate. For this objective to be achieved, 144 people were interviewed, and 521 medical diagnoses and 182 peripheral blood samples were obtained. Genotyping of GSTP1 Ile105Val, GPX-1 Pro198Leu, and XRCC1 Arg399Gln polymorphisms were analyzed, using PCR-RFLP technique. The assessment of chromosomal aberrations was performed, obtaining 182 karyotypes. Malnutrition in children was 3%. Of the total population, 7.7% had children with malformations, and the percentage of abortions was 12.7%. Concerning genotyping, individuals with GSTP1 Val/Val obtained an odds ratio of 4.88 (p<0.001), and Ile/Val individuals, together with Val/Val individuals, had an odds ratio of 2.6 (p<0.05). In addition, GPX-1 Leu/Leu individuals presented an odds ratio (OR) of 8.5 (p<0.05). Regarding karyotyping, the 182 individuals had normal karyotypes. In conclusion, the study population did not present significant chromosomal and DNA alterations. The most important social impact was fear. We recommend future prospective studies to assess the communities.

Verificación racial de jamones y paletas Ibéricos comercializados en supermercados españoles

The commercialization of Iberian meat and dry-cured products is regulated by the Spanish law. A first decree approved on 2007 (Real Decreto 1469/2007) established that Iberian products designated as “Iberian” have to come from pigs with at least a 50% of their genome from Iberian breed and the remaining percentage from Duroc. This decree was modified on 2014 (Real Decreto 4/2014) and it requires that, to be labelled as “100% Iberian”, products must come from purebred pigs and maintains the previous regulation about “Iberian” label. A traceability SNP chip containing 64 SNPs was developed by the Pig Breeding and Genetics Group of INIA. It allows discriminating between the proportion of Iberian and Duroc genomes of an individual. The objective of this study was to check if the dry-cured products (hams and shoulders) sold as “Iberian” by some of the major distributors of Iberian products at main Spanish supermarkets follow the law. One hundred and sixteen samples of dry-cured ham and shoulder sliced packs commercialized as “Iberian” were genotyped with the chip. The genotyping data was analysed using BAPS 5.3. A percentage of Iberian genome lower than 40% was estimated for 34.5% of the samples, which do not follow the regulation of genetic origin. It is worth to note that five of the 116 samples were 100% Duroc. None of the suppliers included in the study met the law strictly. These results show that, in general, the Quality Standard has not been obeyed for a long time. A future new sampling will show if the stricter controls of the animals set by the 2014 law has been useful to improve the legal compliance.

Polimorfismos genéticos y su asociación con proteínas alteradas en individuos ecuatorianos afectos con cáncer

El cancer es un grupo de enfermedades causadas por factores externos e internos, y caracterizadas por el crecimiento y la dispersion de celulas anormales. El cancer de piel ha incrementado el numero de casos en los ultimos anos mientras que el cancer pulmonar presenta el mayor indice de mortalidad en paises industrializados. En Quito, los tipos mas frecuentes de cancer en hombres son prostata, piel y estomago mientras que en mujeres son piel, mama y cervix invasor. La determinacion de las distribuciones genotipicas y las frecuencias alelicas de polimorfismos en los genes SRD5A2 en cancer de prostata, GPX-1 y MnSOD en cancer de vejiga y EGFR en cancer pulmonar, se realizo a traves de la tecnica bialelica PCR-RFLP, y sus datos fueron analizados mediante chi-cuadrado (χ2) y odds ratio (OR). Como resultados, las variantes geneticas V89L (SRD5A2) (OR 3.7, p < 0.001), P198L (GPX-1) (OR 3.8; p < 0.001) y L858R (EGFR) (OR 5.9; p < 0.001), presentaron diferencias significativas y son factores de riesgo para el desarrollo del cancer. En conclusion, la predisposicion de una persona para desarrollar cancer dependera de la exposicion a agentes cancerigenos y de su perfil genetico, el cual influira en la sintesis proteica y en el mal funcionamiento de los mecanismos celulares

Epidemiology and Polymorphisms Related to Bladder Cancer in Ecuadorian Individuals

Bladder cancer (BC) is the fourth most common cancer in men and the eighth most common in women being the responsible for annual deaths of 150,000 and is the seventh most prevalent type of cancer worldwide (Parkin, et al., 2005; Jemal, et al., 2009; Altayli, et al., 2009; Covolo, et al., 2008; Marmot, et al., 2007). In Ecuador the incidence rates of BC are 5.4% in males and 1.6% in females taking into account all cases of cancer diagnosed (Cueva & Yepez, 2009). In Argentina, it was reported as the fourth and the fourteenth most commonly diagnosed malignancy in men and women, respectively, with age-standardized incidence rate per 100,000 people around 15.1 (men) and 2.6 (women) in the period 1998 2002 (Pou, et al., 2011). The estimated downward trend in bladder cancer mortality over the last decades has been previously reported in countries of the European Union (Bosetti, et al., 2008) as well as South and North America (Bosetti, et al., 2005). Susceptibility to BC is considered to depend on interaction between genetic factors and environmental chemical carcinogens. Bladder cancer involves a heterogeneous cell population, and numerous factors are likely to be involved in tumorigenesis (Hirao, et al., 2009). These factors result in uncontrolled growth of the cell population, decreased cell death, invasion and metastasis, and may influence the patient s prognosis. Identification of the aggressive features of the cancer in patients with BC is very important for adequate management of this disease (Ha, et al., 2011). Many studies have investigated the effects of gene polymorphism on the risk of cancer in humans (Paz-y-Mino, at al., 2010; Wacholder, et al., 2004; Marchini, et al., 2004). Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are the most common type of gene polymorphism. Several millions of SNP variants have been identified. The risk of cancer associated with this type of polymorphism probably is not high, and the proportion of malignant tumors associated with a distinct polymorphism depends on the frequency of occurrence of this variant in the human population (Zaridze, 2008). Genetic polymorphisms that alter the activity of enzymes of biotransformation pathways have been reported to be associated with cancer development and progression (Franekova, et al., 2008). In the other hand, molecular epidemiology of cancer studies, molecular markers of distribution of malignant tumors in the populations and their effects on individual are important to understand the risk of developing a disease. For an epidemiological study is