Metabolic profiling of residents in the vicinity of a petrochemical complex

• Published in: The Science of the total environment Vol. 548-549; pp. 260 - 269
• Main Authors: Yuan, Tzu-Hsuen, Chung, Ming-Kei, Lin, Ching-Yu, Chen, Shu-Ting, Wu, Kuen-Yuh, Chan, Chang-Chuan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.04.2016
• Subjects: 1-Hydroxypyrene; amino acids; Biomarkers; carbohydrates; Chemical Industry; discriminant analysis; environmental exposure; Environmental Exposure - analysis; Environmental Exposure - statistics & numerical data; Environmental Pollutants - analysis; Environmental Pollutants - metabolism; Female; Humans; insulin; least squares; Male; metabolites; metabolome; Metabolomics; nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy; Oxidative/nitrosative stress; peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors; Petrochemical complex; pollutants; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Vanadium; Metabolomics; Petrochemical complex; Vanadium; 1-Hydroxypyrene; Oxidative/nitrosative stress
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.01.033

No previous studies have simultaneously measured the biomarkers of environmental exposure and metabolome perturbation in residents affected by industrial pollutants. This study aimed to investigate the metabolic effects of environmental pollutants such as vanadium and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on residents in the vicinity of a petrochemical complex. The study subjects were 160 residents, including 80 high-exposure subjects exposed to high levels of vanadium and PAHs and 80 age- and gender-matched low-exposure subjects living within a 40-km radius of a petrochemical complex. The exposure biomarkers vanadium and 1-hydroxypyrene and four oxidative/nitrosative stress biomarkers were measured in these subjects. Plasma samples from the study subjects were also analyzed using 1H NMR spectroscopy for metabolic profiling. The results showed that the urinary levels of vanadium and 1-hydroxypyrene in the high-exposure subjects were 40- and 20-fold higher, respectively, than those in the low-exposure subjects. Higher urinary levels of stress biomarkers, including 8-OHdG, HNE-MA, 8-isoPF2α, and 8-NO2Gua, were also observed among the high-exposure subjects compared with the low-exposure subjects. Partial least squares discriminant analysis of the plasma metabolome demonstrated a clear separation between the high- and low-exposure subjects; the intensities of amino acids and carbohydrate metabolites were lower in the high-exposure subjects compared with the low-exposure subjects. The exposure to vanadium and PAHs may cause a reduction in the levels of amino acids and carbohydrates by elevating PPAR and insulin signaling, as well as oxidative/nitrosative stress. [Display omitted] •Metabolic effects when exposure to pollutants near a petrochemical complex•V and PAHs exposure associated with elevated oxidative/nitrosative stress responses•V and PAHs exposure related to reduced amino acid and carbohydrate levels•V and PAHs affect metabolic profiling by elevating PPAR and insulin signaling