Role of urinary biomarkers of N,N-dimethylformamide in the early detection of hepatic injury among occupational exposed workers.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the sensitive and convenient biomarkers for the early detection of hepatic injury in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) exposed workers.


METHODS
Seventy-nine individuals in a synthetic leather factory were investigated with questionnaire survey. The air samples, urine samples, and blood samples were collected at the specific time point. Airborne DMF and the urine metabolites of DMF were measured by gas chromatography (GC), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Traditional liver function tests and hepatic fibrosis parameters were performed by auto-chemistry analyzer and ELISA methods.


RESULTS
The urine concentration of N-acetyl-S-(N-methylcarbamoyl)-cysteine (AMCC), one of the metabolites of DMF, was positively correlated with activities of liver function enzymes. About 60% subjects with urine AMCC concentration above 40 mg/g creatinine showed raised liver enzymes activities. In terms of hepatic fibrosis parameters, we found 4 of 5 abnormal total serum bile acid (SBA) and 4 of 4 abnormal serum hyaluronidase (HA) among workers with higher amount of urine AMCC.


CONCLUSIONS
Workers exposed to DMF with higher urine AMCC levels were more likely to develop liver diseases. In addition, SBA and HA have the potential to act as early indicators of toxic hepatic fibrosis activities for occupational health surveillance.
He
Jun
J
Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 213003, Changzhou, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China. jhe2@mix.wvu.edu
Wang
Pei
P
Zhu
Jian-quan
JQ
Wu
Gang
G
Ji
Jun-min
JM
Xue
Ya
Y
D000111:Acetylcysteine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000652:urine; D000328:Adult; D001647:Bile Acids and Salts / Q000097:blood; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000652:urine; D056486:Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine*; D002681:China; D004126:Dimethylformamide; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005559:Formamides / Q000633:toxicity*; D006801:Humans; D006821:Hyaluronoglucosaminidase / Q000097:blood; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D013783:Textile Industry
D001647:Bile Acids and Salts; D015415:Biomarkers; D005559:Formamides; C052469:N-acetyl-S-(N-methylcarbamoyl)cysteine; D004126:Dimethylformamide; D006821:Hyaluronoglucosaminidase; D000111:Acetylcysteine