Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
NMR-Based Metabolomics Laboratory (NMLab), Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Front Public Health. 2024 Aug 7;12:1386441. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1386441. eCollection 2024.
Metal carpentry includes a wide range of work activities such as welding and cutting metallic components, use of solvents and paints. Therefore, the employees in these types of activities are mainly exposed to welding fumes and volatile organic solvents. Here, we present an NMR-based metabolomic approach for assessing urinary profiles of workers in the same company that are exposed to two different risk factors.
The study enrolled 40 male subjects exposed to welding fumes, 13 male subjects exposed to volatile organic compounds of a metal carpentry company, and 24 healthy volunteers. All samples were collected, in the middle of the working week at fast. Thirty-five urinary metabolites belonging to different chemical classes such as amino acids, organic acids and amines were identified and quantified. Results were processed by multivariate statistical analysis for identifying significant metabolites for each working group examined, compared to controls.
Workers exposed to welding fumes displayed urinary increase in glutamine, tyrosine, taurine, creatine, methylguanidine and pseudouridine associated to oxidative impairment, while workers exposed to volatile organic compounds showed higher urinary levels of branched chain aminoacids.
Our work identified specific urinary profile related to each occupational exposure, even if it is below the threshold limit values.
金属木工包括广泛的工作活动，如焊接和切割金属部件、使用溶剂和油漆。因此，这些类型活动中的员工主要接触焊接烟尘和挥发性有机溶剂。在这里，我们提出了一种基于 NMR 的代谢组学方法，用于评估暴露于两种不同危险因素的同一家公司工人的尿样特征。
该研究纳入了 40 名接触焊接烟尘的男性工人、13 名接触金属木工公司挥发性有机化合物的男性工人和 24 名健康志愿者。所有样本均在工作周中期的空腹时采集。鉴定和定量了属于不同化学类别的 35 种尿代谢物，如氨基酸、有机酸和胺。通过多元统计分析处理结果，以确定与对照组相比，每个研究组的显著代谢物。
接触焊接烟尘的工人显示出尿中谷氨酰胺、酪氨酸、牛磺酸、肌酸、甲基胍和假尿嘧啶的增加，与氧化损伤有关，而接触挥发性有机化合物的工人显示出支链氨基酸的尿中水平升高。
即使低于阈值限制值，我们的工作也确定了与每种职业暴露相关的特定尿样特征。
