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Evaluation of urinary metabolites of 1-nitropyrene as biomarkers for exposure to diesel exhaust in taxi drivers of Shenyang, China

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 23, pages 170–175 (2013)Cite this article

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Abstract

Diesel exhaust (DE) is a significant contributor to the toxicity associated with particulate matter (PM). 1-Nitropyrene (1-NP) has been used as a molecular marker for DE, and the urinary metabolites of 1-NP have been proposed as biomarkers for exposure to DE. In this study, several urinary 1-NP metabolites were evaluated for their utility as markers of short-term exposures to DE. The study population was a cohort of 24 taxi drivers from Shenyang, China, who submitted urine samples collected before, after, and the next morning following their workshifts. The urinary metabolites studied were isomers of hydroxy-1-nitropyrene (3-, 6-, 8- OHNPs) and hydroxy-N-acetyl-1-aminopyrene (3-,6-, 8-OHNAAPs). Exposure to DE was estimated based on exposure to 1-NP in air samples collected during and after the driver's workshift; 6- and 8-OHNP, and 8-OHNAAP were consistently detected in the drivers’ urine. Concentrations of the metabolites in the taxi drivers’ urine were greater than metabolite levels previously reported in non-occupationally exposed subjects; however no associations were observed between subject-specific exposures to 1-NP and urinary metabolites measured at the end of the workshift or in the next morning void. Significant autocorrelation was observed in metabolite levels in successive urine samples, from which half-lives for urinary elimination of ∼10–12 h were estimated. These observations suggest that, in an occupational setting, urinary 1-NP metabolites may be more suitable as markers of ongoing exposure (timescales of several days) rather than indicators of acute exposure associated with single workshifts.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by grant R21-ES014917 from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), NIH. The contents of this article are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NIEHS or NIH.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Urban Waters, University of Washington-Tacoma, Tacoma, Washington, USA

    Justin P Miller-Schulze

  2. Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA

    Michael Paulsen, Michael G Yost & Christopher D Simpson

  3. Institute of Medical, Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan

    Takayuki Kameda, Akira Toriba & Kazuichi Hayakawa

  4. Department of Public Health, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Japan

    Ning Tang

  5. National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Japan

    Kenji Tamura

  6. Shenyang Center for Disease Control Prevention, Shenyang, China

    Lijun Dong & Xuemei Zhang

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  1. Justin P Miller-Schulze
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  2. Michael Paulsen
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  3. Takayuki Kameda
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  4. Akira Toriba
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Correspondence to Christopher D Simpson.

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Miller-Schulze, J., Paulsen, M., Kameda, T. et al. Evaluation of urinary metabolites of 1-nitropyrene as biomarkers for exposure to diesel exhaust in taxi drivers of Shenyang, China. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 23, 170–175 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2012.40

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