Sensitive biomarker of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs): urinary 1-hydroxyprene glucuronide in relation to smoking and low ambient levels of exposure.
The study was conducted in a Chinese population with occupational or environmental exposures to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). A total of 106 subjects were recruited from coke-oven workers (workers), residents in a metropolitan area (residents) and suburban gardeners (gardeners). All subjects were monitored twice for their personal exposures to PAHs. The biological samples were collected for measurements of 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) and cotinine in urine. The geometric means of personal exposure levels of pyrene, benz(a)anthracene (BaA) and benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) in workers were 1.470, 0.978 and 0.805 microg m-3, respectively. The corresponding levels in residents were 0.050, 0.034 and 0.025 microg m-3; and those in gardeners were 0.011, 0.020 and 0.008 microg m-3, respectively. The conjugate of 1-OHP with glucuronide (1-OHP-G) is the predominant form of pyrene metabolite in urine and it showed strong associations with exposures not only to pyrene, but also to BaA, BaP and total PAHs. Most importantly, a significant difference in 1-OHP-G was even detected between the subgroups with exposures to BaP at < 0.010 and > 0.010 but < 0.020 microg m-3, suggesting that 1-OHP-G is a good marker that can be used for the risk assessment of BaP exposure at levels currently encountered in ambient air. Furthermore, multiple regression analyses of 1-OHP-G on PAHs exposure indicated that cigarette smoke was a major confounding factor and should be considered and adjusted for while using 1-OHP to estimate PAHs exposure.
Hu
Y
Y
Nelson Institute of Environmental Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, Tuxedo, NY 10987, USA.
Zhou
Z
Z
Xue
X
X
Li
X
X
Fu
J
J
Cohen
B
B
Melikian
A A
AA
Desai
M
M
Tang
M -S
M-
Huang
X
X
Roy
N
N
Sun
J
J
Nan
P
P
Qu
Q
Q
D000393:Air Pollutants; D001551:Benz(a)Anthracenes / Q000032:analysis; D001564:Benzo(a)pyrene / Q000032:analysis; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000737:chemistry*; D003077:Coke; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005260:Female; D005965:Glucuronates / Q000652:urine*; D020719:Glucuronides / Q000652:urine*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D011721:Pyrenes / Q000032:analysis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012907:Smoking
C093851:1-hydroxypyrene-glucuronide; D000393:Air Pollutants; D001551:Benz(a)Anthracenes; D015415:Biomarkers; D003077:Coke; D005965:Glucuronates; D020719:Glucuronides; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D011721:Pyrenes; D001564:Benzo(a)pyrene; C030984:pyrene; C030935:benz(a)anthracene