Bader M, Lehnert G, Angerer J
Institute of Occupational and Social Medicine, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany.
Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 1994;65(6):411-4. doi: 10.1007/BF00383253.
We report the application of a modified Edman degradation procedure to the analysis of benzene oxide adducts at the N-terminal valine of human hemoglobin (Hb). Benzene oxide is thought to be formed in the liver from benzene and adduct formation with macromolecules is therefore likely to occur. We assumed that benzene oxide could covalently bind to hemoglobin after leaving the hepatic tissue. The "N-alkyl Edman method" was adapted for the approach to investigate this hypothesis. Using capillary gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) with negative chemical ionization, we could not detect N-phenylvaline in blood samples from persons occupationally exposed to benzene. We conclude that adducts of benzene oxide to the N-terminal valine of Hb are not formed in detectable amounts in vivo and consequently are not suitable for biomonitoring purposes. This result clearly indicates that other reactive benzene metabolites have to be taken into account not only in the search for a biomarker but also as the ultimate carcinogenic species.
我们报告了一种改良的埃德曼降解程序在分析人血红蛋白（Hb）N端缬氨酸处苯氧化物加合物中的应用。苯氧化物被认为是由肝脏中的苯形成的，因此很可能与大分子形成加合物。我们假设苯氧化物在离开肝组织后能与血红蛋白共价结合。“N-烷基埃德曼法”被用于研究这一假设。使用带负化学电离的毛细管气相色谱/质谱联用仪（GC/MS），我们在职业性接触苯的人员的血液样本中未检测到N-苯基缬氨酸。我们得出结论，苯氧化物与Hb的N端缬氨酸形成的加合物在体内不会以可检测的量形成，因此不适用于生物监测目的。这一结果清楚地表明，在寻找生物标志物以及作为最终致癌物质时，必须考虑其他活性苯代谢物。
