ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of vinyl chloride on the blood sex hormones and liver function of male workers. METHODS: A total of 129 male vinyl chloride workers(exposure group) and 128 male office workers who were not exposed to occupational hazards(control group) were selected as study subjects by judgment sampling method. The time weighted average concentration(C_(TWA)) of vinyl chloride in the workplace air was measured. The level of urine thiodiglycolic acid(TDGA), blood routine, electrocardiogram and liver B-ultrasound were performed on the subjects. The serum levels of liver function and sex hormones were measured. RESULTS: The median of C_(TWA) of vinyl chloride in the workplace was 0.90 mg/m~3, and the geometric mean was 1.40 mg/m~3. The level of urine TDGA in the exposed group was higher than that of the control group(median: 0.68 vs 0.02 mg/g Cr, P<0.01). The abnormal rate of hemoglobin level, erythrocyte count, leukocyte count, hematocrit, mean platelet volume, aspartate transaminase, total bilirubin, indirect bilirubin and liver B-ultrasound increased in the exposure group than that of the control group(P<0.05). The levels of serum prolactin, leuteinizing hormone(LH), follicle-stimulating hormone and estradiol in the exposure group increased, the abnormal rates of prolactin, LH and estradiol increased, and the level of testosterone decreased compared with the control group(P<0.05). The levels of prolactin in the low-, medium-and high-TDGA subgroups in the exposure group increased(P<0.05), and the abnormal rates increased compared with the control group(P<0.017). CONCLUSION: Vinyl chloride can cause liver function damage in male workers and have reproductive toxicity. Prolactin can be used as a biomarker of reproductive toxicity of vinyl chloride.
ABSTRACT
Objective@#To evaluate the effect of acrylamide on the apoptosis of nerve cells by integral cell modelling in vitro which simulates the barrier effect and metabolic micro-environment.@*Methods@#A non-contact and co-cultured in vitro blood brain barrier (BBB) model was established by using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and rat glioma cells (C6) . The trans-endotheilal electrical resistance (TEER) and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) tracer effects were measured to verify the tight connectivity and permeability of the established BBB model. An integrate discrete multiple organ cell co-culture (idMOC) model was established by inoculating the human renal cortical proximal tubular epithelial cells (HK-2) , human normal hepatocytes (L-02) and human neuroblastoma cells (SH-SY5Y) into the self-made multi-organ plate for co-culturing. Then the model was verified by observing the growth curve of various tissue cells under co-culturing or culturing individually. SH-SY5Y cells were exposed to different concentrations of acrylamide directly and indirectly (through BBB model and idMOC model) . The changes of cell apoptosis rate were analyzed by flow cytometry to explore the impact of model on Acrylamide (ACR) injury of typical neurotoxic agents.@*Results@#HUVEC cells can form a wide range of close-connected complex and then inhibit the external electric field under the cross-endothelial movement, and the mean was lower than that of endothelial cell culture group at 4, 5 and 6 days (P<0.05) ; After 20 min, the penetration rate of HRP in the co-culture group was less than that in the individual culture group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05) , indicating that the barrier function of the co-culture group was higher than that of the individual culture group. All cells can exchange substances through the exchange hole of the culture plate, the cells grow well and there was no obvious death. The growth curve in individual culture group and co-culture group were basically the same, the difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05) . Under the condition of different concentrations of ACR (140, 270 g/ml) , compared with the direct exposure group, the apoptosis rate of the BBB model and the idMOC model were significantly decreased, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05) .@*Conclusion@#Based on HUVEC cells and C6 cells co-culture system, a blood-brain barrier model in vitro was established and based on co-culture of HK-2, L-02 and SH-SY5Y, the idMOC model was established. The toxicity and toxic action characteristics of ACR on SH-SY5Y cells were evaluated by validation tests.