A new study by researchers at Washington State University has found why night shift workers may be at greater risk of developing certain types of cancer compared to those who work regularly throughout the day.
Findings show that nocturnal movements disrupt 24-hour natural rhythms in the activity of some cancer-related genes, making nocturnal movement workers more vulnerable to DNA damage while and they also cause the body’s DNA repair mechanisms to be mistaken for such damage.
Published online in the Journal of Pineal Research, the study included a controlled laboratory that used healthy volunteers who had a typical night shift or day shift records.
Although more research remains to be done, these findings could once be used to help prevent and treat cancer in night shift workers.
“There is growing evidence that cancer is more common in night shift workers, prompting the World Health Organization International Organization for Research on Cancer to classify night shift work as the most likely carcinogenic , “said the corresponding author Shobhan Gaddameedhi, an associate professor. formerly the WSU College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and now the North Carolina State University Department of Biological Sciences and the Center for Human Health and the Environment.
“However, it was not clear why night shift work increases the risk of cancer, which our study sought to address.”
As part of a partnership between the WSU Center for Sleep and Performance Analysis and the U.S. Pacific Northwest National Department of Energy (PNNL), Gaddameedhi and other WSU scientists worked with bioinformatics experts at PNNL to explore the potential of would be at the biological clock, the established equipment group that keeps us on a 24-hour night and day cycle.
Although the brain has a central biological clock, almost every cell in the body has its own clock. This cell clock contains genes called clock genes that are rhythmic in their expression, meaning that their activity levels vary with the time of day or night. The researchers hypothesized that the expression of cancer-related genes could also be rhythmic, and that night shift work could disrupt the rhythm of those genes.
To confirm this, they conducted a simulated movement work trial in which 14 participants spent seven days inside the sleep laboratory at WSU Spokane Health Sciences. Half completed a symbolic three-day night movement chart, and the other half completed a symbolic three-day day movement chart.
After completion of their symbolic movements, all participants were kept in a regular follow-up protocol that is used to independently analyze internally generated human biological rhythms from effects. outside.
As part of the protocol, they were kept awake for 24 hours in a semicircular position under constant light exposure and room temperature and given hourly snacks. Every three hours a blood sample was taken.
Studies of white blood cells taken from the blood samples showed that the rhythms of many of the cancer-related genes were different in the state of night movement compared to the state of day movement. In particular, genes associated with DNA repair that showed specific rhythms in the state of daytime movement lost the rhythm in the state of nocturnal movement.
The researchers then looked at the possible impact of the changes in cancer-related gene expression. They found that white blood cells that were separated from the blood of night shift participants showed more evidence of DNA damage than those of day shift participants.
Furthermore, after the researchers exposed peripheral white blood cells to ionizing radiation at two different times of the day, cells radiated in the evening showed more DNA damage in the state of motion of the cell. -night compared to the day movement situation.
This meant that white blood cells from nocturnal movement partners were more vulnerable to external damage from radiation, a known risk factor for DNA damage and cancer.
Taken together, these findings suggest that night shift records discard the timing of cancer-related genes in a way that minimizes the effectiveness of the body’s DNA repair processes when the need is greatest. on them, “said corresponding author Jason McDermott, a computer scientist with the Department of Biological Sciences of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
The next step for the researchers is to perform the same experiment with motion workers in the world who have been constantly on day or night movements for several years to determine if the DNA damage or -prepared builds up over time, which may eventually increase the risk. cancer.
If what happens in real-world movement workers is consistent with current decisions, this work could eventually be used to develop prevention and drug strategies. which may address the maltreatment of DNA repair processes.
It could also form the basis of strategies to optimize cancer treatment so that treatment is administered when efficacy is minimal and side effects are minimal, an approach known as chronotherapy that required tuning rhythms within night workers.
“Nightshift workers have major health differences, from increased risks of metabolic and cardiovascular disease to mental health disorders and cancer,” said co-author Hans Van Dongen, a professor at WSU College of Medicine Elson S. Floyd and director of the WSU Sleep and Performance Research Center.
“It is imperative that we find diagnostic and treatment solutions for this group of critical workers so that the medical community cannot address their unique health challenges.”
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This story was published from a wire group group with no text changes. Only the headline has changed.