title: Oxidative Stress and Genotoxicity of Long-Term Occupational Exposure to Low Levels of BTEX in Gas Station Workers.
abstract: Atmospheric benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX) can lead to multiple health injuries. However, what remains uncertain is the effect of long-term exposure to low levels of BTEX. Thus, we determined the BTEX levels in the air from the refueling and office areas in gas stations. Then we collected workers' (200 refueling vs. 52 office workers) peripheral blood samples to analyze the serum total-superoxide dismutase (T-SOD), glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde (MDA), and 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) levels. DNA damage was analyzed by the comet assay and micronucleus test in buccal epithelial cells. We found that the levels of BTEX in refueling areas were significantly higher than those in office areas (p< 0.001). The serum T-SOD and GSH of refueling workers were significantly lower than those in office workers (p< 0.001). By contrast, the serum MDA and 8-OHdG of refueling workers were significantly higher than those of office workers (p< 0.001, MDA;p= 0.025, 8-OHdG). Furthermore, tail and Olive tail moments in refueling workers were longer (p= 0.004, tail moment;p= 0.001, Olive tail moment), and the micronucleus rate was higher (p< 0.001) than those in office workers. Taken together, long-term exposure to low levels of BTEX may reduce the antioxidant ability and increase the risk of DNA damage in refueling workers of gas stations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning 530021, China. xiongmimi91@163.com.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.affiliation: Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning 530021, China. liqin_1229@163.com.
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Regenerative Medicine, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning 530021, China. gxzhoubo520@126.com.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Atmospheric Environment Research Center, Scientific Research Academy of Guangxi Environmental Protection, Nanning 530021, China. huangjiongli123@163.com.
authors.forename: Jiongli
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning 530021, China. lgq26855@163.com.
authors.forename: Guiqiang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning 530021, China. zhang-121704151010@163.com.
authors.forename: Li'e
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning 530021, China. 15296543598@163.com.
authors.forename: Shuyan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning 530021, China. ql871126@163.com.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Qing
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning 530021, China. llh_cool@126.com.
authors.forename: Linhan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning 530021, China. smiles-sj@163.com.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Center for Environmental Health Research, South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Guangzhou 510655, China. pengxiaowu@scies.org.
authors.forename: Xiaowu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning 530021, China. liqin-7@163.com.
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning 530021, China. email_zyf@163.com.
authors.forename: Yunfeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zou
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D001555:Benzene Derivatives / Q000633:toxicity*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002681:China; D020552:Comet Assay; D004249:DNA Damage; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D015162:Micronucleus Tests / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000187:drug effects; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D001555:Benzene Derivatives; D015415:Biomarkers
keywords: BTEX; DNA damage; antioxidant; comet assay; micronucleus test; refueling workers