Plasma Anti-Glycan Antibody Profiles Associated with Nickel level in Urine.

Nickel (Ni) compounds are widely used in industrial and commercial products including household and cooking utensils, jewelry, dental appliances and implants. Occupational exposure to nickel is associated with an increased risk for lung and nasal cancers, is the most common cause of contact dermatitis and has an extensive effect on the immune system. The purpose of this study was two-fold: (i) to evaluate immune response to the occupational exposure to nickel measured by the presence of anti-glycan antibodies (AGA) using a new biomarker-discovery platform based on printed glycan arrays (PGA), and (ii) to evaluate and compile a sequence of bioinformatics and statistical methods which are specifically relevant to PGA-derived information and to identification of putative "Ni toxicity signature".