<i>RUNX3</i> Methylation: An Epigenetic Biomarker for Early Liver Damage Induced by Co-Exposure to Aflatoxin B1 and Hepatitis B Virus
Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), a well-established hepatic carcinogen, has limited research on early-stage epigenetic biomarkers for aflatoxin-induced liver damage. In this study, we investigated 168 unpackaged peanut oil (UPP) consumers to evaluate associations among AFB1 exposure, HBV infection, <i>RUN...
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MDPI AG
2025-05-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/13/6/425 |
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| author | Yunying Mo Xiaodan Lu Shixiong Zheng Junfeng Deng Shihan Huang Ye Hong Xiaoyu Xian Aliya Yijiati Xingyu Yu Xunwu Luo Miner Xiao Xingfen Yang Michael N. Routledge Yunyun Gong Zhini He |
| author_facet | Yunying Mo Xiaodan Lu Shixiong Zheng Junfeng Deng Shihan Huang Ye Hong Xiaoyu Xian Aliya Yijiati Xingyu Yu Xunwu Luo Miner Xiao Xingfen Yang Michael N. Routledge Yunyun Gong Zhini He |
| author_sort | Yunying Mo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), a well-established hepatic carcinogen, has limited research on early-stage epigenetic biomarkers for aflatoxin-induced liver damage. In this study, we investigated 168 unpackaged peanut oil (UPP) consumers to evaluate associations among AFB1 exposure, HBV infection, <i>RUNX3</i> methylation, and liver function. Our findings indicated an average daily AFB1 intake of 3.14 ng/kg·bw/day from UPP oil consumption. The high AFB1 exposure group exhibited significantly elevated gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) levels compared with the low AFB1 exposure group (<i>p</i> = 0.030). AFB1 exposure was negatively correlated with methylation status at the 2nd, 8th, and 9th CpG sites of <i>RUNX3</i> (r<sub>s</sub> = −0.196, −0.192, −0.181, <i>p</i> = 0.021, 0.024, 0.036). Furthermore, methylation at the 8th and 9th CpG sites positively correlated with GGT (r<sub>s</sub> = 0.206, 0.203, <i>p</i> = 0.019, 0.024). HBV infection significantly influenced <i>RUNX3</i> methylation, with the HBsAg<sup>+</sup> group exhibiting 16.25% lower methylation (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Stratified analysis by HBV and AFB1 revealed that in the low AFB1 exposure subgroup, <i>RUNX3</i> methylation in the HBsAg<sup>+</sup> group exhibited a significant 26.38% reduction compared with the HBsAg<sup>−</sup> group. These results indicated that AFB1 and HBV independently and synergistically promote site-specific <i>RUNX3</i> hypomethylation. Our results implicated <i>RUNX3</i> methylation as a critical mediator in HBV-AFB1 co-exposure hepatotoxicity, potentially serving as a novel epigenetic biomarker for early liver damage detection. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-07c942bc20164fd7907cfd09b6cf5b6a |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2305-6304 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Toxics |
| spelling | doaj-art-07c942bc20164fd7907cfd09b6cf5b6a2025-08-20T03:26:56ZengMDPI AGToxics2305-63042025-05-0113642510.3390/toxics13060425<i>RUNX3</i> Methylation: An Epigenetic Biomarker for Early Liver Damage Induced by Co-Exposure to Aflatoxin B1 and Hepatitis B VirusYunying Mo0Xiaodan Lu1Shixiong Zheng2Junfeng Deng3Shihan Huang4Ye Hong5Xiaoyu Xian6Aliya Yijiati7Xingyu Yu8Xunwu Luo9Miner Xiao10Xingfen Yang11Michael N. Routledge12Yunyun Gong13Zhini He14Food Safety and Health Research Center, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, ChinaFood Safety and Health Research Center, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, ChinaFood Safety and Health Research Center, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, ChinaFood Safety and Health Research Center, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, ChinaFood Safety and Health Research Center, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, ChinaFood Safety and Health Research Center, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, ChinaFood Safety and Health Research Center, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, ChinaFood Safety and Health Research Center, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, ChinaFood Safety and Health Research Center, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, ChinaThe Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Dongguan 523000, ChinaThe Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Dongguan 523000, ChinaFood Safety and Health Research Center, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, ChinaLeicester Medical School, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UKSchool of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UKFood Safety and Health Research Center, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, ChinaAflatoxin B1 (AFB1), a well-established hepatic carcinogen, has limited research on early-stage epigenetic biomarkers for aflatoxin-induced liver damage. In this study, we investigated 168 unpackaged peanut oil (UPP) consumers to evaluate associations among AFB1 exposure, HBV infection, <i>RUNX3</i> methylation, and liver function. Our findings indicated an average daily AFB1 intake of 3.14 ng/kg·bw/day from UPP oil consumption. The high AFB1 exposure group exhibited significantly elevated gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) levels compared with the low AFB1 exposure group (<i>p</i> = 0.030). AFB1 exposure was negatively correlated with methylation status at the 2nd, 8th, and 9th CpG sites of <i>RUNX3</i> (r<sub>s</sub> = −0.196, −0.192, −0.181, <i>p</i> = 0.021, 0.024, 0.036). Furthermore, methylation at the 8th and 9th CpG sites positively correlated with GGT (r<sub>s</sub> = 0.206, 0.203, <i>p</i> = 0.019, 0.024). HBV infection significantly influenced <i>RUNX3</i> methylation, with the HBsAg<sup>+</sup> group exhibiting 16.25% lower methylation (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Stratified analysis by HBV and AFB1 revealed that in the low AFB1 exposure subgroup, <i>RUNX3</i> methylation in the HBsAg<sup>+</sup> group exhibited a significant 26.38% reduction compared with the HBsAg<sup>−</sup> group. These results indicated that AFB1 and HBV independently and synergistically promote site-specific <i>RUNX3</i> hypomethylation. Our results implicated <i>RUNX3</i> methylation as a critical mediator in HBV-AFB1 co-exposure hepatotoxicity, potentially serving as a novel epigenetic biomarker for early liver damage detection.https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/13/6/425AFB1HBVliver function<i>RUNX3</i>methylation |
| spellingShingle | Yunying Mo Xiaodan Lu Shixiong Zheng Junfeng Deng Shihan Huang Ye Hong Xiaoyu Xian Aliya Yijiati Xingyu Yu Xunwu Luo Miner Xiao Xingfen Yang Michael N. Routledge Yunyun Gong Zhini He <i>RUNX3</i> Methylation: An Epigenetic Biomarker for Early Liver Damage Induced by Co-Exposure to Aflatoxin B1 and Hepatitis B Virus Toxics AFB1 HBV liver function <i>RUNX3</i> methylation |
| title | <i>RUNX3</i> Methylation: An Epigenetic Biomarker for Early Liver Damage Induced by Co-Exposure to Aflatoxin B1 and Hepatitis B Virus |
| title_full | <i>RUNX3</i> Methylation: An Epigenetic Biomarker for Early Liver Damage Induced by Co-Exposure to Aflatoxin B1 and Hepatitis B Virus |
| title_fullStr | <i>RUNX3</i> Methylation: An Epigenetic Biomarker for Early Liver Damage Induced by Co-Exposure to Aflatoxin B1 and Hepatitis B Virus |
| title_full_unstemmed | <i>RUNX3</i> Methylation: An Epigenetic Biomarker for Early Liver Damage Induced by Co-Exposure to Aflatoxin B1 and Hepatitis B Virus |
| title_short | <i>RUNX3</i> Methylation: An Epigenetic Biomarker for Early Liver Damage Induced by Co-Exposure to Aflatoxin B1 and Hepatitis B Virus |
| title_sort | i runx3 i methylation an epigenetic biomarker for early liver damage induced by co exposure to aflatoxin b1 and hepatitis b virus |
| topic | AFB1 HBV liver function <i>RUNX3</i> methylation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/13/6/425 |
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