XRCC5 Gene Might Help People Cope with High Levels of Air Pollution

The human body has an extraordinary ability to cope with risk factors which threaten its wellbeing. Scientists keep finding amazing proofs which highlight the adaptability of inhabitants who live in vulnerable areas.

This appears to be the case of the people from Ostrava, one of the biggest cities in the Czech Republic, which is currently dealing with an increased level of air pollution.

According to the study, Ostrava's inhabitants are more prone to repairing their DNA damage than the people who live in Prague, which keeps them protected from the devastating effects of smog.

It seems that their defense mechanism works differently, so the researchers decided to name the gene which is responsible for this peculiar change XRCC5.

Apparently, XRCC5 has the ability to fill the gaps in human DNA. Pollution is likely to cause mutations and breaks, but this gene fights back and succeeds in reestablishing the natural balance of individuals. The explanation is quite simple.

The fact that individuals who live in severely polluted areas, such as Ostrava, display a beneficial higher expressions of this gene helps them cope with the present environmental framework, according to Dr Pavel Rossner, from Prague's Institute of Experimental Medicine.

This breakthrough is meant to contradict scientists' first belief that human organism needs a long period of time to embrace significant structural changes.

Since Ostrava has become an industrial city approximately 150 years ago, the people have successfully adapted to the new reality in only a few decades.

This finding is very important, since it is the first time that experts managed to highlight the correlation between a gene and the DNA modifications triggered by air pollution.

Even more important seems to be the fact that XRCC5 might not be the only gene able to support human adaptability, while confronting major environmental challenges such as poor air quality. There are entire series of genes which work in favor of the people exposed to high levels of pollution.

Despite the fact that the result is quite encouraging, the team of experts behind this project say that the beneficial role of XRCC5 might not be able to reflect the reality on a large scale.

The potential of their result is limited, taking into consideration that it was revealed after analyzing only 60 people both Ostrava and Prague, a small number when we think about the potential dimensions of their discovery.