engleski

Does air pollution have an impact on our DNA? Measuring DNA damage by the comet assay and BTEX exposure in human blood cells

Outdoor air pollution in urban and rural areas causes millions of premature deaths worldwide. Cities are more exposed to higher concentrations of pollutants because of the urban agglomeration, traffic, and industrial activities. Additionally, the emission of BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene) compounds becomes higher, mainly due to intensive industrialization and urbanization. Hence, we aimed to investigate possible effects of air pollution and BTEX exposure on DNA damage detected by the alkaline comet assay in human peripheral blood cells. The study was conducted during the colder period of the year 2021 and involved 60 healthy subjects (34 females and 26 males), aged 36.4±9.6 years and BMI<30 kg/m2 living in Zagreb (Croatia). To evaluate potential impact of air pollution on comet assay results, association was made using different time windows of measured air pollution parameters prior to blood sampling while BTEX were analysed in whole blood using headspace solid- phase micro extraction (SPME) followed by gas chromatography- mass spectrometry (GCMS). All measured outdoor air pollution parameters were bellow regulatory limit except for benzo[a]pyrene bound to PM10 particle fraction (particles with aerodynamic diameter less than 10 μm), that exceeded regulatory annual limit level. Toluene with average blood concentration 146.3 ng/L and m-/p-xylene, with average concentration 171.7 ng/L, were the most dominant among the BTEX compounds. Average tail intensity was 1.2±0.5%, which is in accordance with our previous data for healthy general population in Croatia. There was no statistically significant Spearman’s correlation between the measured biomarkers of exposure and DNA damage. Linear regression modelling revealed that PM10 (particles with aerodynamic diameter less than 10 μm) was the most significant feature and has a significant positive linear relation with the tail intensity. Future research will include the analysis of the same study cohort in the warmer period of the year, as well as two other Croatian cities, where we expect exposure to different set of air pollutants.

BTEX ; DNA damage ; alkaline comet assay ; air pollution

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