title: Urinary bromophenol glucuronide and sulfate conjugates: Potential human exposure molecular markers for polybrominated diphenyl ethers.
abstract: One possible source of urinary bromophenol (BP) glucuronide and sulfate conjugates in mammalian animal models and humans is polybromodiphenyl ethers (PBDEs), a group of additive flame-retardants found ubiquitously in the environment. In order to study the correlation between levels of PBDEs in human blood plasma and those of the corresponding BP-conjugates in human urine, concentrations of 17 BDE congeners, 22 OH-BDE and 13 MeO-BDE metabolites, and 3 BPs in plasma collected from 100 voluntary donors in Hong Kong were measured by gas chromatograph tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Geometric mean concentration of ΣPBDEs, ΣOH-BDEs, ΣMeO-BDEs and ΣBPs in human plasma were 4.45 ng g(-1) lw, 1.88 ng g(-1) lw, 0.42 ng g(-1) lw and 1.59 ng g(-1) lw respectively. Concentrations of glucuronide and sulfate conjugates of 2,4-dibromophenol (2,4-DBP) and 2,4,6-tribromophenol (2,4,6-TBP) in paired samples of urine were determined by liquid chromatography tandem triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). BP-conjugates were found in all of the parallel urine samples, in the range of 0.08-106.49 μg g(-1)-creatinine. Correlations among plasma concentrations of ΣPBDEs/ΣOH-BDEs/ΣMeO-BDEs/ΣBPs and BP-conjugates in urine were evaluated by multivariate regression and Pearson product correlation analyses. These urinary BP-conjugates were positively correlated with ΣPBDEs in blood plasma, but were either not or negatively correlated with other organobromine compounds in blood plasma. Stronger correlations (Pearson's r as great as 0.881) were observed between concentrations of BDE congeners having the same number and pattern of bromine substitution on their phenyl rings in blood plasma and their corresponding BP-conjugates in urine.
authors: State Key Laboratory for Marine Pollution, Department of Biology and Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
authors: Ka-Lok
authors: KL
authors: Ho
authors: State Key Laboratory for Marine Pollution, Department of Biology and Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
authors: Man-Shan
authors: MS
authors: Yau
authors: State Key Laboratory for Marine Pollution, Department of Biology and Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Electronic address: mbmurphy@cityu.edu.hk.
authors: Margaret B
authors: MB
authors: Murphy
authors: Department of Biomedical Veterinary Sciences and Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Canada.
authors: Yi
authors: Y
authors: Wan
authors: Division of Clinical Biochemistry, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; Department of Chemistry, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
authors: Bonnie M-W
authors: BM
authors: Fong
authors: Division of Clinical Biochemistry, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
authors: Sidney
authors: S
authors: Tam
authors: State Key Laboratory for Marine Pollution, Department of Biology and Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; Department of Biomedical Veterinary Sciences and Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Canada; Department of Zoology and Center for Integrative Toxicology, Michigan State University, USA; School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; Department of Zoology and Center for Integrative Toxicology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA; State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
authors: John P
authors: JP
authors: Giesy
authors: Department of Chemistry, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
authors: Kelvin S-Y
authors: KS
authors: Leung
authors: State Key Laboratory for Marine Pollution, Department of Biology and Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Electronic address: bhmhwlam@cityu.edu.hk.
authors: Michael H-W
authors: MH
authors: Lam
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000737:chemistry / Q000652:urine; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005411:Flame Retardants / Q000032:analysis; D020719:Glucuronides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000652:urine*; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers / Q000097:blood*; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010636:Phenols / Q000737:chemistry*; D013431:Sulfates / Q000737:chemistry / Q000652:urine*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D005411:Flame Retardants; D020719:Glucuronides; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers; D010636:Phenols; D013431:Sulfates; C013930:2,4-dibromophenol; C004554:2,4,6-tribromophenol
keywords: Bromophenols; Exposure molecular markers; Human blood plasma; Human urine; Metabolites; Polybrominated diphenyl ethers