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Publications

Journal Article Epublish

PubMed: 40126257 DOI: 10.3390/jox15020039

Urinary Metabolomics of Plastic Manufacturing Workers: A Pilot Study.

J Xenobiot 15(2)

Authors: Michele De Rosa, Ottavia Giampaoli, Adriano Patriarca, Federico Marini, Antonio Pietroiusti, Lorenzo Ippoliti, Agostino Paolino, Andrea Militello, Anna Rita Fetoni, Renata Sisto, Giovanna Tranfo, Mariangela Spagnoli, Fabio Sciubba

Affiliations

  • Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy.
  • NMR-Based Metabolomics Laboratory (NMLab), Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy.
  • Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy.
  • Faculty of Medicine, Saint Camillus International University of Health Science, 00131 Rome, Italy.
  • Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy.
  • Department of Medicine, Epidemiology, Environmental and Occupational Hygiene, Istituto Nazionale Assicurazione contro gli Infortuni sul Lavoro (INAIL), 00078 Monte Porzio Catone, Italy.
  • Department of Neuroscience, Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences-Audiology Section, University of Naples Federico II, 80131 Naples, Italy.

Abstract

The plastic manufacturing industry has a crucial role in the global economy with a significant impact in a wide range of fields. The chemical risk to which workers are potentially exposed is difficult to characterize and strictly related to both the products and processes adopted. Among the chemicals used, we can cite styrene, phenol, butadiene and phthalates, but nano- and microplastic particles can also be released in the work environment. In this pilot study, we present for the first time an NMR-based metabolomic approach for assessing urinary profiles of workers employed in a plastic manufacturing company. Urine samples from twelve workers and thirteen healthy volunteers were collected and analyzed by NMR spectroscopy. Forty-six urinary metabolites belonging to different chemical classes were univocally identified and quantified. The dataset so obtained was then subjected to multivariate statistical analysis to characterize each profile and highlight any differences. An alteration in some metabolites involved in several pathways, such as amino acid metabolism and NAD metabolism, was found, and a strong impact on gut microflora was also speculated. Ultimately, our work has the objective of adding a tile to the knowledge of biological effects possibly related to occupational exposure even if it is below the threshold limit values.

MeSH

Pilot Projects, Pilots, Occupational Exposure, Metabolomics, Work, Plastics