Urinary biomonitoring of subjects with different smoking habits. Part I: Profiling mercapturic acids

• Published in: Toxicology letters Vol. 327; pp. 48 - 57
• Main Authors: Frigerio, Gianfranco, Mercadante, Rosa, Campo, Laura, Polledri, Elisa, Boniardi, Luca, Olgiati, Luca, Missineo, Pasquale, Fustinoni, Silvia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.07.2020
• Subjects: Biomonitoring; Electronic cigarette smoking; Smoking habit; Tobacco smoking; Urinary mercapturic acids; Volatile organic compounds; Biomonitoring; MHBMA; NS; SBMA; Tobacco smoking; NANPC; DHBMA; LC–MS/MS; GAMA; Smoking habit; AMCC; TTS; 3-HPMA; ANOVA; SPMA; EMA; Electronic cigarette smoking; BMI; MMA; HMPMA; PHEMA; CEMA; AAMA; GMR; LOQ; Volatile organic compounds; HEMA; Urinary mercapturic acids; ECU; 2-HPMA; CMEMA
• ISSN: 0378-4274; 1879-3169; 1879-3169
• DOI: 10.1016/j.toxlet.2020.03.010

[Display omitted] •67 study subjects: 38 non-smokers, 7 e-cig users, and 22 tobacco smokers.•17 urinary mercapturic acids, metabolites of carcinogenic/toxic chemicals measured.•Most mercapturic acids higher in tobacco smokers than in non-smokers.•Metabolites of acrylonitrile and acrolein higher in e-cig users than in non-smokers. While tobacco smoke contains thousands of chemicals, some of which are carcinogenic to humans, the content of electronic cigarette smoke is less known. This work aimed to assess and compare the exposure associated with different smoking habits by profiling urinary mercapturic acids as biomarkers of toxic compounds. In this pilot study, sixty-seven healthy adults with different smoking habits were investigated: 38 non-smokers (NS), 7 electronic cigarette users (ECU), and 22 traditional tobacco smokers (TTS). Seventeen urinary mercapturic acids, metabolites of 1,3-butadiene (DHBMA, MHBMA), 4-chloronitrobenze (NANPC), acrolein (3-HPMA), acrylamide (AAMA, GAMA), acrylonitrile (CEMA), benzene (SPMA), crotonaldehyde (CMEMA, HMPMA), ethylating agents (EMA), methylating agents (MMA), ethylene oxide (HEMA), N,N-dimethylformamide (AMCC), propylene oxide (2-HPMA), styrene (PHEMA), and toluene (SBMA), were quantified, along with urinary nicotine and cotinine. Median urinary cotinine was 0.4, 1530 and 1772 μg/L in NS, ECU and TTS, respectively. Most mercapturic acids were 2–165 fold-higher in TTS compared to NS, with CEMA, MHBMA, 3-HPMA and SPMA showing the most relevant increases. Furthermore, some mercapturic acids were higher in ECU than NS; CEMA and 3-HPMA, in particular, showed significant increases and were 1.8 and 4.9 fold-higher, respectively. This study confirms that tobacco smoking is a major source of carcinogenic chemicals such as benzene and 1,3-butadiene; electronic cigarette use is a minor source, mostly associated with exposure to chemicals with less carcinogenic potential such as acrylonitrile and acrolein.