Mutagenic and DNA repair activity in traffic policemen: a case-crossover study
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RESEARCH
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Mutagenic and DNA repair activity in traffic policemen: a case-crossover study Caterina Ledda1* , Carla Loreto2, Massimo Bracci3, Claudia Lombardo2, Gaetano Romano1, Diana Cinà4, Nicola Mucci5, Sergio Castorina2 and Venerando Rapisarda1
Abstract Background: Emissions from vehicles are composed of heterogeneous mixtures of hazardous substances; several pollutants such as Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are amongst the most dangerous substances detected in urban monitoring. A cohort of traffic policemen usually occupationally exposed to PAHs present in the urban environment were examined in order to assess the mutagenicity and DNA capacity repair. Methods: Seventy-two urban traffic policemen working in Catania’s metropolitan area were enrolled in the study. Two spot urine samples were collected from each subject during the whole working cycle as follows: sample 1 (S1), pre-shift on day 1; sample 2 (S2) post-shift on day 6. 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) was measured to serve as an indirect exposure indicator. Urinary mutagenic activity was assessed through the plate incorporation pre-incubation technique with S9, using YG1024 Salmonella typhimurium strain over-sensitive to PAH metabolite. Concentrations of urinary 8-oxodG were measured using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Results: As regards the exposure to PAHs, results highlighted a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001) between pre-shift on day 1 and post-shift on day 6 levels. Mutagenic activity was detected in 38 (66%) workers on S1 and in 47 (81%) on S2. Also 8-oxodG analysis showed a statistically significant difference between S1 and S2 sampling. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that occupational exposure to pollutants from traffic emission, assessed via 1OHP measurements in urine, may lead to DNA repair and mutagenic activity, in line with other studies. Keywords: PAHs, DNA damage, Oxidative stress, Air pollution, Urban traffic, Cancer, Worker, Salmonella typhimurium, 8-oxodG, 1-hydroxypyrene
Background Urban traffic may impact on human health through various biological mechanisms and causes several health effects [1–5]. Moreover, the association between exposure to traffic-related air pollution and cause-specific mortality and morbidity has long been studied and dealt with in several epidemiological surveys [4, 6–9]. Emissions from vehicles are composed of heterogeneous mixtures of hazardous substances [10]; several pollutants such as Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are amongst the most dangerous substances detected in urban monitoring [11–13].
* Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Occupational Medicine, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, 95100 Catania, Italy Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
PAHs are a large group of chemicals with 2 to 7 fused aromatic rings [14]. Benzo(a)pyrene (B(a)P) is one of the best-known PAHs, categorized by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as carcinogenic to humans (group
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