title: Human metabolic responses to chronic environmental polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposure by a metabolomic approach.
abstract: The toxicities of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been extensively explored due to their carcinogenic and mutagenic potency; however, little is known about the metabolic responses to chronic environmental PAH exposure among the general population. In the present study, 566 healthy volunteers were dichotomized into exposed and control groups to investigate PAH-induced perturbations in the metabolic profiles. Nine urine PAH metabolites were measured by a sensitive LC-MS/MS method to comprehensively evaluate the PAH exposure level of each individual, and the metabolic profiles were characterized via a LC-MS-based metabolomic approach. PAH exposure was correlated to its metabolic outcomes by linear and logistic regression analyses. Metabolites related to amino acid, purine, lipid, and glucuronic acid metabolism were significantly changed in the exposed group. 1-Hydroxyphenanthrene and dodecadienylcarnitine have potential as sensitive and reliable biomarkers for PAH exposure and its metabolic outcomes, respectively, in the general population. These findings generally support the hypothesis that environmental PAH exposure causes oxidative stress-related effects in humans. The current study provides new insight into the early molecular events induced by PAH exposure in the actual environment.
authors.affiliation: †State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, 1 Xiannongtan Street, Beijing 100050, China.
authors.forename: Zhonghua
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: †State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, 1 Xiannongtan Street, Beijing 100050, China.
authors.forename: Yajie
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: ‡Taiyuan Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Taiyuan 030012, China.
authors.forename: Baoxin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: ‡Taiyuan Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Taiyuan 030012, China.
authors.forename: Yanping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: §Department of Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States.
authors.forename: Zhe
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: †State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, 1 Xiannongtan Street, Beijing 100050, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: †State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, 1 Xiannongtan Street, Beijing 100050, China.
authors.forename: Yanhua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: ∥School of Public Health, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030001, China.
authors.forename: Zhao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: ∥School of Public Health, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030001, China.
authors.forename: Fenfen
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: †State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, 1 Xiannongtan Street, Beijing 100050, China.
authors.forename: Huiqing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: †State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, 1 Xiannongtan Street, Beijing 100050, China.
authors.forename: Jiuming
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: †State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, 1 Xiannongtan Street, Beijing 100050, China.
authors.forename: Ruiping
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: †State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, 1 Xiannongtan Street, Beijing 100050, China.
authors.forename: Zeper
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Abliz
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D055432:Metabolomics; D008875:Middle Aged; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000633:toxicity* / Q000652:urine
chemical_list: D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
keywords: Metabolomics; PAH exposure; environmental health; molecular epidemiology; oxidative stress