Ethnic Differences in the Metabolism of Toluene: Comparisons between Korean and Foreign Workers Exposed to Toluene

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to investigate the individual characteristics, lifestyle habits, exposure levels, and genetic diversity of xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes involved in toluene metabolism in Korean and foreign workers exposed to toluene at a manufacturing plant. This study was conducted to determine the effects of culture or ethnicity on toluene metabolism. The results showed that blood and urinary toluene concentrations were dependent on the level of exposure to toluene. We analyzed the correlation between toluene metabolism and genetic diversity in glutathione S-transferase (GST) (M1), GSTT1, and cytochrome p-450 (CYP) 2E1*5 as well as lifestyle habits (smoking, drinking, and exercise habits). The results revealed significant correlations between toluene metabolism and GSTM1 and GSTT1 genetic diversity, as well as smoking and exercise.

Effects of Styrene-metabolizing Enzyme Polymorphisms and Lifestyle Behaviors on Blood Styrene and Urinary Metabolite Levels in Workers Chronically Exposed to Styrene

“…This result suggests that the genetic polymorphisms CYP2E1*5 and null/active GSTM1 were associated with the detoxification of styrene. In contrast, previous reports found that neither the genotypes of xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes nor lifestyle habits (smoking, drinking, and exercise) significantly affected the metabolism of xenobiotic including styrene (15 , 18) . Therefore, multiple logistic regression analysis was performed with the genetic polymorphisms of styrene-metabolizing enzymes and these lifestyle habits as dependent variables and styrene metabolites as independent variables.…”

“…To analyze the concentration of blood styrene, 1 mL blood was collected from each subject and placed in a 20-mL headspace injection vial. The stopper was immediately replaced and a gas chromatograph/mass selective detector with a headspace sampler (Hewlett-Packard 7694 headspace sampler/6890 GC/5793 Mass Selective Detector, Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, CA, USA) was used for the determination according to Kim et al (18) . The concentration of urinary styrene was also determined with this system according to Kim et al (18) .…”

“…The stopper was immediately replaced and a gas chromatograph/mass selective detector with a headspace sampler (Hewlett-Packard 7694 headspace sampler/6890 GC/5793 Mass Selective Detector, Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, CA, USA) was used for the determination according to Kim et al (18) . The concentration of urinary styrene was also determined with this system according to Kim et al (18) . Urinary styrene metabolites such as MA and PGA were analyzed using a gas chromatograph (CP-3800 GC/FID, Varian Ltd., USA) according to the method described by de Carvalho et al (19) .…”

Correlation of Toluene Safe Duration (Hours/Day) and Glutathione Concentration, Malondialdehyde and Neurotoxic Symptoms in Osowilangun Shoe Home Industry Workers

“…Gas station workers with high toluene exposure have lower glutathione concentrations compared to the control group 21,22 . A research conducted in Korea showed that there was a significant relationship between toluene metabolism and glutathione 23 . However, studies conducted on mice given organic solvent for 3 days showed that toluene did not affect the amount of glutathione in the body 24 .…”

Identification of metabolomics panels for potential lung cancer screening by analysis of exhaled breath condensate

“…Preliminarily, it is worth emphasizing the presence of compounds that can be associated with the smoking habit. This is the case with p-cresol and benzyl alcohol, two compounds that can be obtained from toluene [21][22][23], which is one of the major components of tobacco smoke [24]. In fact, the levels of both compounds were strongly related, as deduced from their relative concentration variability represented in the mean plots.…”