title: Increased levels of urinary nitrite and nitrotyrosine in Yusho victims 40 years after accidental poisoning with polychlorinated biphenyls in Nagasaki, Japan.
abstract: Forty years have passed since the accidental poisoning with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) in Japan in 1968, named Yusho. High concentrations of PCB are still detected in the serum of the Yusho victims. PCB produces superoxide (O(2) (-)) in the metabolic process and we reported high concentrations of serum nitrite, a stable metabolite reflecting nitric oxide (NO), in the Yusho victims. NO reacts with O(2) (-) and immediately produces peroxynitrite (ONOO(-)). ONOO(-) causes nitration of tyrosine residues and produces nitrotyrosine (NT). Therefore, we measured urinary concentrations of nitrite and NT in the victims and age-matched controls. The mean urinary concentrations of nitrite and NT were significantly higher than in the controls. There was a positive correlation between urinary nitrite and NT in the Yusho victims. Furthermore, there was a positive correlation between the ratio of urinary NT to nitrite and serum PCB concentrations in the Yusho victims. It was considered that the emergence of some ailments could be presumed to have been caused by high levels of urinary nitrite and NT in the Yusho victims.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan. kasimizu@net.nagasaki-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Kazuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shimizu
authors.forename: Fumihide
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ogawa
authors.forename: Jens J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Thiele
authors.forename: Jeong Boem
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: SangJae
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bae
authors.forename: Shinichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sato
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000097:blood / Q000506:poisoning*; D005260:Female; D005506:Food Contamination; D005517:Foodborne Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009573:Nitrites / Q000652:urine*; D012275:Oryza / Q000506:poisoning*; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000506:poisoning*; D011041:Poisoning / Q000175:diagnosis; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000097:blood / Q000506:poisoning*; D014443:Tyrosine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000652:urine
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D009573:Nitrites; D010938:Plant Oils; C002744:3-nitrotyrosine; D014443:Tyrosine; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls