Abstract 3900: Formaldehyde induces DNA damage and BRCA1 nuclear export

Abstract Formaldehyde is a colorless, potent, flammable gas, commonly used to manufacture building materials and other household and personal care products. Most living organisms are exposed to some levels of formaldehyde in one way or another. Studies have shown formaldehyde to have mutagenic and genotoxic effects on proliferating cells. In order to understand the effects of formaldehyde on cancer progression, we examined the effects of formaldehyde on estrogen receptor positive breast cancer cells, MCF-7. Our data suggest that low concentrations of formaldehyde decrease the proliferation of MCF-7 cells. Further analysis at the molecular level suggests that formaldehyde increases the expressions of p53 and BRCA1, two tumor suppressor genes known to play important roles in DNA repair. Consistent with previous reports that high concentrations of formaldehyde results in irreversible DNA damage, our results suggest that exposure to low concentrations of formaldehyde is sufficient to induce DNA damage. Protein and gene expression analyses suggest that p53 and BRCA1 expression levels are dependent on the concentration of formaldehyde and length of exposure. Additionally, our data show that BRCA1 undergoes nuclear export in response to formaldehyde which is consistent with its role in DNA damage surveillance and repair. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3900. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-3900