Common household substance can alter mechanisms controlling gene activity

NEW DELHI: Formaldehyde, commonly present in various household and cosmetic products, can modify normal epigenetic patterns, which are mechanisms controlling genetic activity, researchers have found.

The modifications brought about by the substance, also present in polluted air and widely used in construction, could directly contribute to the origin of diseases including cancer, asthma and liver degeneration due to fatty liver, the team including researchers from the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute (IJC), Barcelona, Spain, said.

Formaldehyde was found to inhibit the process of methylation, or the production of “methyl” groups, which are known to regulate epigenetic activity. The researchers have published their findings in the journal Science.

Specifically, they found that exposure to formaldehyde caused the loss of methylation of histones, which are proteins that package our DNA and control the function of thousands of genes.

“Formaldehyde enters our body mainly during our breathing and, because it dissolves well in an aqueous medium, it ends up reaching all the cells of our body,” said study author Manel Esteller, Director of IJC.

The findings could further “contribute to the well-documented carcinogenic properties of formaldehyde,” according to another study author Lucas Pontel, a fellow at the institute.

“Formaldehyde is not only a significant environmental hazard, often found in polluted fumes, but it can also be generated within our bodies through the metabolism of common dietary substances like the sweetener aspartame.

“Moreover, our cells are continually producing formaldehyde, a known mutagen that can lead to cancer,” said Pontel.

Given the toxicity of the substance, international health authorities are already restricting the use of formaldehyde as much as possible, according to Esteller.

However, “there are still areas of work where high levels of it are used, such as in the manufacture of resins, the production of plastic, industrial foundries or the cosmetics industry,” said Esteller.

Further, “it also originates during the combustion of automobile gasoline and in tobacco smoke, thus, environmental and health policies aimed at reducing our exposure to the characterized substance should be promoted,” said the study author.