Analyzing the effects of uranium on DNA damage response and unequal exposure in native populations

Abstract

Uranium, a widely sought resource to produce nuclear energy, is a radioactive element that has been mined in open areas around the United States. Human exposure to uranium poses serious health risks, like cancer, organ function loss, and whole bodily debilitation. However, Native Americans are and have been greater exposed to uranium due to mines’ presence on reservations, and thus these risks incline towards such demographics. The National Institute of Health highlights this environmentally unjust exposure as a public health crisis, as uranium exposure damages critical repair pathways needed to repair DNA damage, which can lead to genomic instability and carcinogenesis. This paper attempts to create both an understanding of the molecular-scale damage uranium causes in the form of damaging non-homologous end-joining and homologous recombination pathways, while also covering a broader perspective of how indigenous peoples of America face a serious risk of such damage from their heightened exposure. First, the increased exposure risk in native communities is discussed by covering articles from government surveys, communications, and studies that gauge the danger of uranium concentrations in the environmental systems of Native nations. In the DNA repair portion, studies focusing on damage to key repair proteins in the DNA repair pathway, like the loss of zinc in its respective motif on the PARP-1 protein, and the increase of ROS causing oxidative stress in cells, pointing to the previously mentioned instability, are covered, and their methods and findings are presented.