Morimoto K, Wolff S
Cancer Res. 1980 Apr;40(4):1189-93.
Benzene, which has been associated with human cancers, is metabolized to produce several major metabolites that could be responsible for the biological effects. Tests have now been carried out on human lymphocytes in culture to determine if benzene or its metabolites, phenol, catechol, and hydroquinone, induce cytogenetic changes and affect the cell cycle. The results indicate that benzene itself does not induce sister chromatid exchanges or affect cell cycle kinetics over a wide range of doses. Phenol has an effect only at very high doses. On the other hand, catechol is a potent compound that induces sister chromatid exchanges and delays cell division very readily. Hydroquinone is also potent, but less so than catechol. Thus, the formation of catechol and hydroquinone is the most likely cause of benzene toxicity.
苯与人类癌症有关，它经过代谢产生几种主要代谢产物，这些代谢产物可能是其生物学效应的原因。现在已经对培养中的人类淋巴细胞进行了测试，以确定苯或其代谢产物苯酚、儿茶酚和对苯二酚是否会诱导细胞遗传学变化并影响细胞周期。结果表明，苯本身在很宽的剂量范围内不会诱导姐妹染色单体交换或影响细胞周期动力学。苯酚仅在非常高的剂量下才有作用。另一方面，儿茶酚是一种强效化合物，很容易诱导姐妹染色单体交换并延迟细胞分裂。对苯二酚也有强效作用，但不如儿茶酚。因此，儿茶酚和对苯二酚的形成最有可能是苯毒性的原因。
