Using Lymphocyte and Plasma Hsp70 as Biomarkers for Assessing Coke Oven Exposure among Steel Workers

• DOI: 10.1289/ehp.10104
• Publication Date: 2007-08-23T20:32:05Z
• Authors: Xiaobo Yang; Jinping Zheng; Yun Bai; Fengjie Tian; Jing Yuan; Jianya Sun; Huashan Liang; Liang Guo; Hao Tan; Weihong Chen; Robert M. Tanguay; Tangchun Wu
• Keywords: Adult; Male; China; 0303 health sciences; Pyrenes; Research; Air Pollutants, Occupational; Extraction and Processing Industry; 03 medical and health sciences; Steel; Occupational Exposure; Humans; HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins; Lymphocytes; Coke; Biomarkers; Micronuclei, Chromosome-Defective; DNA Damage

Hsp70, an early-response protein induced when organisms are confronted with simple or complicated environmental stresses, can act as either a cellular protector or a danger signal.The goal of this study was to evaluate levels of lymphocyte and/or plasma Hsp70 as biomarkers for assessing exposure response to complex coke oven emissions (COEs).We recruited 101 coke oven workers and determined levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure, urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP), genotoxic damage by comet assay and micronuclei test, and other markers of damage, including plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). These were compared to levels of lymphocyte (intra-cellular) and plasma (extracellular) Hsp70 using Western blots and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), respectively.We observed a COEs-related dose-dependent increase in levels of DNA damage, micronuclei rate, MDA concentration, and LDH activity. Lymphocyte Hsp70 levels increased in the intermediate-exposure group (1.39 +/- 0.88) but decreased in the high-exposure group (1.10 +/- 0.55), compared with the low-exposure group. In contrast, plasma Hsp70 levels progressively increased as the dose of exposure increased. Negative correlations were seen between lymphocyte Hsp70 levels and olive tail moment and LDH activity in the intermediate- and high-exposure groups. However, we observed positive correlations between plasma Hsp70 levels and LDH activity in the low and intermediate groups.In workers exposed to COEs, high lymphocyte Hsp70 levels may provide protection and high plasma Hsp70 levels may serve as a danger marker. Larger validation studies are needed to establish the utility of Hsp70 as a response marker.