Assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposure, lung function, systemic inflammation, and genotoxicity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from firefighters before and after a work shift

Abstract

Firefighting is regarded as possibly carcinogenic, although there are few mechanistic studies on genotoxicity in humans. We investigated exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), lung function, systemic inflammation and genotoxicity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of 22 professional firefighters before and after a 24-h work shift. Exposure was assessed by measurements of particulate matter (PM), PAH levels on skin, urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) and self-reported participation in fire extinguishing activities. PM measurements indicated that use of personal protective equipment (PPE) effectively prevented inhalation exposure, but exposure to PM occurred when the environment was perceived as safe and the self-contained breathing apparatuses were removed. The level of PAH on skin and urinary 1-OHP concentration were similar before and after the work shift, irrespective of self-reported participation in fire extinction activities. Post-shift, the subjects had reduced levels of oxidatively damaged DNA in PBMC, and increased plasma concentration of vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1). The subjects reporting participation in fire extinction activities during the work shift had a slightly decreased lung function, increased plasma concentration of VCAM-1, and reduced levels of oxidatively damaged DNA in PBMC. Our results suggest that the firefighters were not exposed to PM while using PPE, but exposure occurred when PPE was not used. The work shift was not associated with increased levels of genotoxicity. Increased levels of VCAM-1 in plasma were observed. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 59:539-548, 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Health effects of exposure to diesel exhaust in diesel-powered trains

“…Plasma levels of soluble ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 were measured with BD cytometric bead array system, using Accuri CFlow Plus software (BD Bioscience) as described previously [63]. DNA damage was assessed by levels of DNA strand breaks and Fpg-sensitive sites using the comet assay as described elsewhere [64]. The number of Fpg-sensitive sites was obtained as the difference in scores of parallel slides incubated with and without Fpg (gift from Professor Andrew Collins, University of Oslo, Norway).…”

Acute Phase Response as a Biological Mechanism‐of‐Action of (Nano)particle‐Induced Cardiovascular Disease

“…[42] For occupational exposure to combustion particles, both positive and negative studies were identified. [22,50,[80][81][82][83] Taken together, occupational biomonitoring studies report increased blood levels of acute phase response proteins among workers following occupational exposure to particles especially in controlled studies, where the participants serve as their own control. In other studies, including cross-sectional studies, positive correlations between exposure to particles and acute phase response proteins CRP and SAA were found.…”

Firefighters exposure to fire emissions: Impact on levels of biomarkers of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and genotoxic/oxidative-effects

“…The combination of biomarkers of exposure with (bio)markers of effects and/or susceptibility represents a valuable tool for assessing the potential health effects in the exposed subjects (Alhamdow et al, 2017;Barth et al, 2017;Dominguez-Ortega et al, 2016;Zhou et al, 2018;Oliveira et al, 2017d). Some studies have been emerging regarding characterization of firefighters' occupational exposure via biomonitoring assays, with emphasis on active firefighters participation in prescribed burns and/or wildland fires combat (Fent et al, 2014;Park et al, 2015;Keir et al, 2017;Gaughan et al, 2014a, b;Fernando et al, 2016;Oliveira et al, 2017c;Edelman et al, 2003;Abreu et al, 2017;Adetona et al, 2017;Oliveira et al, 2016;Caux et al, 2002;Wingfors et al, 2018;Andersen et al, 2018a). Available data come mostly from studies conducted in USA and Canada; however, the obtained findings may not be directly applicable to European subjects due to the different meteorological conditions, types of vegetation, and firefighting practices that affect composition of smoke and consequently human exposure.…”

“…Available data come mostly from studies conducted in USA and Canada; however, the obtained findings may not be directly applicable to European subjects due to the different meteorological conditions, types of vegetation, and firefighting practices that affect composition of smoke and consequently human exposure. Only five studies were conducted in European countries (Oliveira et al, 2017c;Abreu et al, 2017;Oliveira et al, 2016;Wingfors et al, 2018;Abreu et al, 2017;Adetona et al, 2017;Oliveira et al, 2016;Caux et al, 2002;Wingfors et al, 2018;Andersen et al, 2018a) with only one considering the simultaneous assessment of biomarkers of exposure and of effect (Andersen et al, 2018a). Thus, this work aimed to contribute to fill this research gap and assessed the occupational exposure of (non-smoking and smoking) firefighters during fire combat activities by biomarkers of exposure and effect.…”