Résumé
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the possibility of utilizing DNA adduct as a carcinogenic biological marker for workers exposed to chromium, and the effect of chromium exposure on the formation of urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine(8-OH-dG) was also evaluated. METHODS: The chromium concentrations of venous blood and urine were measured in 20 chromium exposed workers(exposure group) and in 11 chromium workers(control group) who were not exposed. The concentration of 8-OH-dG in their urine was determined using high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. RESULTS: The blood chromium concentration was significantly higher in the exposure group ( 0.46+/-0.18 microgram/100 ml) than in control group(0.27+/-0.15 microgram/100 ml), but the urinary chromium concentration was not significantly higher in the exposure group. The urinary 8-OH-dG was higher in the exposure group(1.71+/-1.82 micromol/mol creatinine) than that in the control group(0.45+/-0.46 micromol/mol creatinine) and was significantly correlated with the blood chromium concentration(r=0.49). Results of multiple regression analysis revealed that the level of urinary 8-OH-dG depended upon the level of the blood chromium conc entration ( r2= 0.21). CONCLUSIONS: Urinary 8-OH-dG was significantly related to chromium exposure and this finding suggests the possibility that urinary 8-OH-dG could be used as a biological index of chromium induced DNA damage.