Abstract
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are present in several working activities. This work is aimed at comparing oxidative stress and DNA damage biomarkers to specific VOCs in the occupational exposure of painters. Dose-response relationships between biomarkers of oxidative stress and of dose were studied. Unmetabolized VOCs and their urinary metabolites were analyzed. Urinary Methylhyppuric acids (MHIPPs, xylenes metabolite), Phenylglyoxylic and Mandelic acid (PGA, MA ethylbenzene metabolites), S-Benzylmercapturic acid (SBMA, toluene metabolite), and S-Phenylmercapturic acid (SPMA, benzene metabolite) were quantified at the end of work-shift. Oxidative stress was determined by: urinary excretion of 8-oxodGuo, 8-oxoGua and 8-oxoGuo and direct/oxidative DNA damage in blood by Fpg-Comet assay. Multivariate linear regression models were used to assess statistical significance of the association between dose and effect biomarkers. The regressions were studied with and without the effect of hOGG1 and XRCC1 gene polymorphisms. Statistically significant associations were found between MHIPPs and both 8-oxoGuo and oxidative DNA damage effect biomarkers measured with the Comet assay. Oxidative DNA damage results significantly associated with airborne xylenes and toluene, whilst 8-oxodGuo was significantly related to urinary xylenes and toluene. Direct DNA damage was significantly associated to SBMA. XRCC1 wild-type gene polymorphism was significantly associated with lower oxidative and total DNA damage with respect to heterozygous and mutant genotypes. The interpretation of the results requires some caution, as the different VOCs are all simultaneously present in the mixture and correlated among them.
Highlights
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) include a variety of chemicals present in many household products and used in several working activities
We considered for each subject the mean value of Tail DNA%, tail moment (TM) and tail length (TL) from enzyme-untreated cells to evaluate direct DNA damage
Specific dose–response relationships are proposed, which permit the quantitative evaluation of very early risk curves with respect to genotoxic damage in workers exposed to a mixture of VOCs
Summary
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) include a variety of chemicals present in many household products and used in several working activities. It is widely known that continuous exposure to these compounds is dangerous, as these substances have been classified as carcinogenic by IARC [1] with adverse effects on the human health. Because of the easy evaporation at room temperature, the DNA Damage in Workers Exposed to VOCs organic solvents can spread in the environment and are toxic. In the occupational setting, VOCs must be handled following appropriate safety precautions such as wearing the personal protection equipment (PPE) in order to avoid excessive exposure. A bibliometric analysis, published in 2019, examined the scientific literature published in the years 2016–2018 on VOCs’ effect on human health. The investigators conclude that the most common diseases, potentially associated with VOCs, mainly involve the respiratory system, the blood system, and inflammation [2]
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