Genetic Effects of Welding Fumes on the Progression ofNeurodegenerative Diseases

BackgroundWelding exposes different types of fumes, gases and radiant energy that can be potentially dangerous for unsafe welders health. Welding fumes (WFs) are a significant problem among all those exposed. WFs are a complex mixture of metallic oxides, silicates and fluorides that may result in different health effects. If a welder inhales such fumes in large quantities over a long period of time, there is a risk of various neurodegenerative diseases (NDGDs) development.\n\nMethodsWe developed quantitative frameworks to identify the genetic relationship of WFs and NDGDs. We analyzed Gene Expression microarray data from WFs exposed tissues and NDGDs including Parkinsons disease (PD), Alzheimers disease (AD), Lou Gehrigs disease (LGD), Epilepsy disease (ED), Multiple Sclerosis disease (MSD) datasets. We constructed disease-gene relationship networks and identified dysregulated pathways, ontological path- ways and protein-protein interaction sub-network using multilayer network topology and neighborhood-based benchmarking.\n\nResultsWe observed that WFs shares 18, 16, 13, 19 and 19 differentially expressed genes with PD, AD, LGD, ED and MSD respectively. Gene expression dysregulation along with relationship networks, pathways and ontologic analysis showed that WFs are responsible for the progression of PD, AD, LGD, ED and MSD neurodegenerative diseases.\n\nConclusionOur developed network-based approach to analysis and investigate the genetic effects of welding fumes on PD, AD, LGD, ED and MSD neurodegenerative diseases could be helpful to understand the causal influences of WF exposure for the progression of the NDGDs.