title: Toxicity of methyl tertiary-butyl ether on human blood lymphocytes.
abstract: Methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) is a synthetic solvent widely used as oxygenate in unleaded gasoline. Few studies have addressed the cellular toxicity of MTBE on some cell lines, and so far, no comprehensive study has been conducted to investigate the probable immunotoxicity of this compound. In this study, the toxicity of MTBE on human blood lymphocytes was evaluated. Blood lymphocytes were isolated from healthy male volunteers' blood, using Ficoll polysaccharide followed by gradient centrifugation. Cell viability, reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation, lipid peroxidation, glutathione levels, and damage to mitochondria and lysosome were determined in blood lymphocytes after 6-h incubation with different concentrations of MTBE (0.1, 0.5, 1, and 2 mM). Our results showed that MTBE, in particular, decreased cell viability, which was associated with significant increase at intracellular ROS level and toxic alterations in mitochondria and lysosomes in human blood lymphocytes. Moreover, it was shown that MTBE strongly provoked lipid peroxidation and also depleted glutathione level at higher concentrations. Interestingly, MTBE exhibited its cytotoxic effects at low concentrations that may resemble to its concentrations in human blood following occupational and environmental exposure. It is therefore concluded that MTBE was capable of inducing oxidative stress and damage to mitochondria and lysosomes in human lymphocytes at concentrations ranging from 5 to 40 μg/L, which may be present in human blood as a result of environmental exposure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box: 14155-6153, Tehran, Iran.|Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, Ardabil University of Medical Science, Ardabil, Iran.|Students Research Committee, School of Pharmacy, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Ahmad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Salimi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box: 14155-6153, Tehran, Iran.|Students Research Committee, School of Pharmacy, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mehrdad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vaghar-Moussavi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box: 14155-6153, Tehran, Iran.|Students Research Committee, School of Pharmacy, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Enayatollah
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Seydi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box: 14155-6153, Tehran, Iran. j.pourahmadjaktaji@utoronto.ca.|Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. j.pourahmadjaktaji@utoronto.ca.
authors.forename: Jalal
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pourahmad
mesh_terms: D002470:Cell Survival; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D005742:Gasoline; D015386:Hazardous Substances / Q000633:toxicity*; D006801:Humans; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000187:drug effects; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects*; D008297:Male; D008738:Methyl Ethers / Q000633:toxicity*; D018675:Toxicity Tests
chemical_list: D005742:Gasoline; D015386:Hazardous Substances; D008738:Methyl Ethers; C043243:methyl tert-butyl ether
keywords: Cytotoxicity; Glutathione; Lysosomes; Methyl tertiary-butyl ether; Mitochondria; Oxidative stress