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Transition Metals in Personal Samples of PM_2.5 and Oxidative Stress in Human Volunteers

¹ Institute of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark ² Particle Research, Institut für Umweltmedizinische Forschung, Heinrich-Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany; and ³ National Environmental Research Institute, Department of Atmospheric Environment, Roskilde, Denmark

Requests for reprints: Steffen Loft, Institute of Public Health, c/o Department of Pharmacology, The Panum Institute, 18-5-32, Blegdamsvej 3, DK-2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark. Phone: 45-35327649; Fax: 45-35327610. E-mail: s.loft{at}pubhealth.ku.dk

Ambient particulate matter (PM) has been associated with increased risk of lung cancer. One proposed mechanism is that PM induces oxidative stress mediated by transition metals contained within this mixture. We examined the relationship between the personal exposure to water-soluble transition metals in PM_2.5 and oxidative DNA damage. In 49 students from central Copenhagen, we determined PM_2.5 exposure by personal sampling twice in 1 year, and measured in these PM_2.5 samples the concentration of the soluble transition metals vanadium, chromium, iron, nickel, copper, and platinum. Collected lymphocytes and 24-hour urine samples were analyzed for DNA damage in terms of 7-hydro-8-oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG). We found that the 8-oxodG concentration in lymphocytes was significantly associated with the vanadium and chromium concentrations with a 1.9% increase in 8-oxodG per 1 µg/L increase in the vanadium concentration and a 2.2% increase in 8-oxodG per 1 µg/L increase in the chromium concentration. We have previously reported that in this study population the personal exposure to PM_2.5 was associated with an increase in 8-oxodG in lymphocytes. However, vanadium and chromium were associated with the 8-oxodG concentration in lymphocytes independently of the PM_2.5 mass concentration. The four other transition metals were not associated with 8-oxodG in lymphocytes and none of the transition metals was significantly associated with 8-oxodG in urine. Our results could indicate that vanadium and chromium present in PM_2.5 have an effect on oxidative DNA damage that is independent of particle mass and/or other possible toxic compounds contained within this particulate mixture.