title: Elevated monocyte phosphorylated p38 in nearby employees after a chemical explosion.
abstract: Personalised health surveillance is infrequent or absent in occupational and environmental medicine. The shortage of functional tests in relevant cells and tissues greatly limits our understanding of environmental exposures and associated disease risk. We evaluated single cell signalling in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 301 individuals in a cross sectional health survey 18 months after a chemical explosion of sulphorous coker gasoline. The accident created a malodourous environment leading to long-term health complaints. Multiple regression analysis revealed T-cell specific elevated phosphorylation of the stress kinase p-p38 (T180/Y182) among tobacco smokers and monocyte-specific elevated phosphorylation in employees at the explosion site. Other studies of the accident reported reduced tear film stability, and more airway obstruction and subjective health complaints among the employees at the accident site. Elevated monocyte p-p38 in the employee group was independent of such health effects, and could therefore be dependent on the sulphuric malodorous environment. The present study proposes signalling status in leukocytes as a scalable biomarker providing information about environmental exposures.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Cancer Biomarkers CCBIO, Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, N-5021 Norway.
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sulen
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Medicine, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, N-5021 Norway.
authors.forename: Stein H L
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lygre
authors.affiliation: Centre for Cancer Biomarkers CCBIO, Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, N-5021 Norway.
authors.forename: Sigrun M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Hjelle
authors.affiliation: Centre for Cancer Biomarkers CCBIO, Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, N-5021 Norway.|Department of Occupational Medicine, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, N-5021 Norway.
authors.forename: Bjørg E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Hollund
authors.affiliation: Centre for Cancer Biomarkers CCBIO, Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, N-5021 Norway.|Department of Internal Medicine, Haematology Section, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, N-5021 Norway.
authors.forename: Bjørn T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Gjertsen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000074062:Environmental Biomarkers / Q000235:genetics; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D005742:Gasoline / Q000633:toxicity*; D006801:Humans; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D010766:Phosphorylation / Q000235:genetics; D059010:Single-Cell Analysis; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D055815:Young Adult; D048051:p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D000074062:Environmental Biomarkers; D005742:Gasoline; D048051:p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases