Fenga Concettina, Gangemi Silvia, Teodoro Michele, Rapisarda Venerando, Golokhvast Kirill, Docea Anca Oana, Tsatsakis Aristidis M, Costa Chiara
Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging - Occupational Medicine Section - University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy.
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine - Occupational Medicine Section - University of Catania, 95131 Catania, Italy.
Toxicol Rep. 2017 May 31;4:291-295. doi: 10.1016/j.toxrep.2017.05.008. eCollection 2017.
The present study aims to investigate the relation between exposure to low-dose benzene and the occurrence of oxidative DNA damage in gasoline station workers, as well as the possible role of interfering or confounding factors. Urine levels of 8-OHdG were evaluated by a competitive immunoassay in a group of 80 men, employed in gasoline stations located in East Sicily and compared with a control group (n = 63) of male office employees not occupationally exposed to benzene. Information regarding socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle and job-related records were provided through a questionnaire. Significantly higher (p < 0.05) urinary t,t,-MA and 8-OHdG levels were observed in gasoline station attendants compared to subjects not exposed to benzene. Pearson's test demonstrated a strong correlation (r = 0.377, p < 0.001) between 8-OHdG and benzene exposure level. 8-OHdG significantly correlated also with job seniority, (r = 0.312, p < 0.01), whereas the relation with age resulted weaker (r = 0.242, p < 0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis, performed to exclude a role for confounding factors, showed that variables like gender, smoking habit, alcohol consumption and BMI did not have a significant influence on the measured biomarkers. No subject enrolled in the study presented signs or symptoms of work-related disease or other illness linked to oxidative stress. These results suggest that low-level chronic exposure to benzene among gasoline station attendants can determine oxidative damage on DNA, as indicated by alteration of 8-OHdG which may represent a non-invasive biomarker of early genotoxic damage in exposed subjects.
本研究旨在调查低剂量苯暴露与加油站工作人员氧化DNA损伤发生之间的关系，以及干扰或混杂因素可能发挥的作用。采用竞争性免疫分析法对西西里岛东部80名在加油站工作的男性尿液中的8-羟基脱氧鸟苷（8-OHdG）水平进行评估，并与一组未职业暴露于苯的男性办公室职员对照组（n = 63）进行比较。通过问卷调查获取有关社会人口统计学特征、生活方式和工作相关记录的信息。与未接触苯的受试者相比，加油站工作人员的尿t,t,-粘糠酸（t,t,-MA）和8-OHdG水平显著更高（p < 0.05）。Pearson检验表明8-OHdG与苯暴露水平之间存在强相关性（r = 0.377，p < 0.001）。8-OHdG还与工作年限显著相关（r = 0.312，p < 0.01），而与年龄的关系较弱（r = 0.242，p < 0.05）。为排除混杂因素的作用而进行的多元线性回归分析表明，性别、吸烟习惯、饮酒量和体重指数等变量对所测生物标志物没有显著影响。本研究纳入的受试者均未出现与工作相关疾病或其他与氧化应激相关疾病的体征或症状。这些结果表明，加油站工作人员长期低水平接触苯可导致DNA氧化损伤，8-OHdG的改变表明了这一点，8-OHdG可能是暴露受试者早期遗传毒性损伤的一种非侵入性生物标志物。
