The benzene metabolite, hydroquinone, selectively induces 5q31− and −7 in human CD34+CD19− bone marrow cells

Trisomy 8 as the sole chromosomal aberration in acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes

“…Further support for an etiologic role of benzene has come from in vitro studies, using interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), showing that exposing peripheral blood cells or CD34+ cells from chord blood to metabolites of benzene, e.g., hydroquinone and benzenetriol, results in aneuploidy of chromosome 8 [49][50][51]. This was, however, not confirmed in similar experiments on CD34+ bone marrow cells [52]. In vivo analyses, by the use of interphase FISH, of lymphocytes from benzene-exposed workers have also identified increased frequencies of trisomy 8, which in one study was associated with polymorphisms in genes encoding benzene-metabolizing enzymes [53,54].…”

Fluorescence in situ hybridization is necessary to detect an association between chromosome aberrations and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposure in utero and reveals nonrandom chromosome involvement

“…Each of these theories has support under the specific conditions in which the underlying observations were made [Maraschin et al, 1990;Sozzi et al, 1997;Surralles, 1997;Wu et al, 1998;Puerto et al, 1999a;Zhang et al, 1998aZhang et al, ,b, 2002Stillman et al, 2000;Eastmond et al, 2001;Stein et al, 2002;Zhu et al, 2002;Beskid et al, 2006]. Regardless of the mechanism driving the differential susceptibility to damage, the assumption that chromosome aberrations are being induced randomly, and the subsequent use of the whole genome correction factor, may not be appropriate for all exposures and/or populations.…”

Cigarette smoking, cytogenetic abnormalities, and acute myelogenous leukemia

“…36 Although the data are insufficient to reach firm conclusions, the apparent relative frequency of associations with chromosome 8 is in contradistinction to data on chemotherapy-associated AML. 42 Studies of the effect of benzene metabolites on cells in culture [43][44][45][46][47] and of cases of AML linked to industrial exposure to benzene [48][49][50] have found that loss of all or part of chromosomes 5 and 7 and gain or loss in chromosome 8, or t(8;21)) are the prevalent changes. The similarities to the chromosome abnormalities found in smoking-associated AML, however, cannot be considered a basis to make the connection between smokingassociated AML and benzene, since abnormalities in 5 and 7 are Relatively small number of patients.…”