©2015 Pearl Research Journals Genetic Predisposition to Chronic Dust Bronchitis among Potash Miners L.V. Dubovskaya 1* , T.M. Rybina 2 , Y.S. Bakakina 1 , O.F. Kardash 2 , N.P. Denisevich 3 and I.D. Volotovski 1 Accepted 8-8-2015 1 Institute of Biophysics and Cell Engineering of National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk, Belarus. 2 Republican Scientific-Practical Center of Hygiene, Minsk, Belarus. 3 Polyclinic of Joint Stock Company Belaruskali, Soligorsk, Belarus. ABSTRACT Chronic respiratory diseases represent a prevalent occupational disease worldwide. It is suggested that polymorphisms in genes of enzymes of monooxygenase (microsomal epoxide hydrolase 1 (EPHX1), cytochromes (CYPs)) and antioxidant glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) systems might potentiate susceptibility to respiratory system pathology in workers employed in mining. There are a large number of studies on genetic markers for occupational pulmonary diseases, but the majority of them concerns workers of the coal industry. Therefore, we aimed to investigate genetic predisposition to chronic dust occupational bronchitis (СВ) among potash miners. The study population consisted of 38 males with CB and 18 controls. Deletions in GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes were analysed using multiplex PCR. Polymorphisms of CYP1А1 (Ile462Val), EPHX1 (His139Arg) and GSTP1 (Ile105Val) were detected using PCR followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis. Significantly increased risk for CB was observed for subjects with polymorphism in exon5 (Ile105Val) of GSTP1 (ОR=8.6, χ 2 =8.794, р=0.001) and polymorphism in exon4 (His139Arg) of EPHX1 (ОR=8.6, χ 2 =4.4, р=0.04). This study showed that the GSTP1 (Ile105Val) and EPHX1 (His139Arg) polymorphisms are closely associated with the increased risk for chronic dust occupational bronchitis among potash miners. Key words: Bronchitis, Genetic polymorphism, Potash miners, Predisposition. INTRODUCTION Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) represents a leading cause of death worldwide. As much as 15% of COPD cases have been attributed to occupational exposures (Balmes et al., 2003; Blanc 2012). COPD has serious medical, social and economic consequences as the clinical signs of disease develop slowly, so complicating early diagnosis and often results in pulmonary and extrapulmonary complications (Eisner et al., 2011). The risk of COPD is high in industries where workers operate in the atmosphere of industrial aerosols. As a result such a condition is typical for underground workers who are exposed to coal or mineral dust caused by mining activities. So, chronic dust bronchitis is one of the widespread occupational forms of COPD. It is known that in addition to exogenic influences (such as components and duration of industrial aerosol impact, smoking, concurrent infections and associated diseases) individual features including genetic factors may play roles in the pathogenesis of respiratory diseases (Blanc and Toren, 2007; Omland et al., 2014). Currently the Journal of Medical and Biological Science Research Vol. 1 (6), pp. 55-61, August, 2015 ISSN: 2449-1810 Research Paper http://pearlresearchjournals.org/journals/jmbsr/index.html *Corresponding author. E-mail: dubovsk@mail.ru.