title: Mutagenic activity of overnight urine from healthy non-smoking subjects.
abstract: Urinary mutagenicity was evaluated in relation to environmental mutagen exposure (i.e., diet, indoor/outdoor activities, residential area etc.) on the day prior to sample collection, and also considering factors that contribute to the variability of Salmonella mutagenicity assay results. Overnight urine samples from 283 healthy non-smoking residents of northeast Italy (46% males, 20-62 years) were analyzed for mutagenicity on sensitive Salmonella typhimurium strain YG1024 with S9 mix employing the preincubation version of the plate incorporation assay (i.e., the Salmonella reverse mutation test). Urinary mutagenicity varied between 0.02 and 9.84 rev/ equiv. ml, and 7% of samples were positive (i.e., sample elicited a two-fold increase in revertants). There was an evident increase in mutagenicity in subjects with increased intake of mutagen-rich meals (n = 80) (P < 0.01 and positive urine 13% vs. 5%, P = 0.025). Indoor-exposed subjects (n = 65) also showed a higher percentage of positive urine (14% vs. 5%, P = 0.015). In particular, those subjects exposed to cooking fumes the previous evening (n = 28) revealed higher urinary mutagenicity (P = 0.035, positive urine 25% vs. 5%, P < 0.001) than non-indoor exposed. The sources of variability of the mutagenicity assay, mainly the histidine content of the urine concentrate (z = 4.06, P < 0.0001), and to a lesser extent bacterial inoculum size (z = 2.33, P = 0.019), also significantly influenced urinary mutagenicity values. In a linear multiple regression analysis, their effects were still significant (i.e., histidine content P = 0.026 and inoculum size P = 0.021), but the effects of diet, indoor exposure, and other environmental exposures (i.e., traffic and heating system exhausts, residential area) were not. It is concluded that the previous day's exposure to mutagen-rich meals and cooking fumes may influence the presence of mutagenic activity in the overnight urine of non-smoking subjects. This mutagenic activity, which remains in contact with bladder mucosa for several hours, could be considered risk factors for colorectal adenoma and possibly other cancers (i.e., bladder) in non-smokers. Accurate control of histidine content and bacterial inoculum size is strongly recommended when investigating the mutagenic activity of urine from non-smokers.
authors.affiliation: Occupational Health Section, Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, University of Padova, Italy. sofia.pavanello@unipd.it
authors.forename: Sofia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pavanello
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lupi
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pulliero
authors.forename: Pasquale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gregorio
authors.forename: Bruno Onofrio
authors.initials: BO
authors.lastname: Saia
authors.forename: Erminio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Clonfero
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D015386:Hazardous Substances / Q000633:toxicity*; D006639:Histidine / Q000652:urine*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009152:Mutagenicity Tests; D009153:Mutagens / Q000633:toxicity*; D012907:Smoking; D001743:Urinary Bladder / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects*; D014556:Urine / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D015386:Hazardous Substances; D009153:Mutagens; D006639:Histidine