Urinary 2,5-hexanedione assay involving its conversion to 2,5-dimethylpyrrole

No-observed-adverse-effect level of hair pyrrole adducts in chronic n-hexane intoxication in rats

n-Hexane has been reported to induce serious peripheral neuropathy in workers. Pyrrole adducts are the unique reaction products of n-hexane in organisms and have been demonstrated to be critical to n-hexane neuropathy. Our previous studies have demonstrated that pyrrole adducts could accumulate in hair and showed high correlation with neuropathy at the end of experiments in rat models. In the present study, we examined the time course of hair pyrrole adducts and behavioral changes in rats exposed to different dosages of n-hexane in both treatment (24 weeks) and recovery phases. Our results showed: 1. After treatment, 1.0, 2.0, and 4.0 g/kg dosage groups all lost weight, but the 0.5 g/kg dosage group showed no impairment; after recovery, all impaired rats regained weight. 2. After treatment, 1.0, 2.0, and 4.0 g/kg dosage groups all showed a rise in gait scores, decreased rotarod latency, and decreased motor nerve conduction velocity, whereas the 0.5 g/kg dosage group showed no impairment; after recovery, all impaired rats were completely rehabilitated. 3. After treatment, levels of pyrrole adducts in serum, urine, and hair of experimental groups increased; after recovery, serum and urine pyrrole adducts showed no difference from the control (P > 0.05), whereas hair pyrrole adducts were significantly different from the control (P < 0.01). 4. The half-lives of serum and urine pyrrole adducts were 47.8-78.0 h and 42.7-52.9 h, while the half-life of hair pyrrole adducts was 14-24 weeks. 5. During treatment and recovery, levels of serum, urine, and hair pyrrole adducts showed high correlation with gait scores (P < 0.01), and hair pyrrole adducts had the largest partial correlation coefficient. In conclusion, hair pyrrole adducts could serve as a stable and reliable biomarker for the prevention of n-hexane intoxication. Furthermore, the no-observed-adverse-effect level of hair pyrrole adducts in rats is 275.2 ± 61.5 nmol/g protein. Further studies are required for the definition of the biological exposure limit in humans.

Aromatic as well as aliphatic hydrocarbon solvent axonopathy

Superfund sites that contain mixtures of aromatic and aliphatic solvents represent an undefined health hazard. After prolonged exposure to relatively high levels of certain aliphatic solvents (e.g. n-hexane, 2-hexanone), humans and animals develop a dose-dependent neurodegeneration that occurs clinically as a symmetrical peripheral neuropathy. This is triggered by the action of 2,5-hexanedione (1,2-diacetylethane), a 1,4-diketone (gamma-diketone) metabolite that targets proteins required for the maintenance of neuronal (and testicular Sertoli cell) integrity. Certain aromatic solvents (1,2-diethylbenzene, 1,2,4-triethylbenzene) cause electrophysiological changes consistent with sensorimotor neuropathy in rodents, but the underlying mechanisms and pathogenesis are unclear. Our recent studies show that the o-diacetyl derivative and likely metabolite of 1,2-diethylbenzene, 1,2-diacetylbenzene, behaves as a neurotoxic (aromatic) gamma-diketone of high neurotoxic potency. Rats treated with 1,2-diacetylbenzene develop limb weakness associated with proximal, neurofilament-filled giant axonal swellings comparable to those seen in animals treated with the potent 3,4-dimethyl derivative of 2,5-hexanedione. The blue chromogen induced by treatment with 1,2-diacetylbenzene is under study as a possible urinary biomarker of exposure to aromatic solvents (e.g. 1,2-diethylbenzene, tetralin) with neurotoxic potential. Development and validation of sensitive new biomarkers, especially for non-cancer endpoints, will aid in assessing the health risk associated with exposure to hazardous substances at Superfund sites.

Biological monitoring of occupational exposure to n-hexane by exhaled air analysis and urinalysis

To compare two methods of biological monitoring for the evaluation of risk of occupational exposure to n-hexane, we analyze the relationship between environmental exposure to this solvent and urinary excretion of 2,5-hexanedione and n-hexane in exhaled air in 69 workers employed in the shoe industry. Environmental exposure to the solvent was monitored with personal diffusive samplers, which were desorbed with carbon sulfide and analyzed by gas chromatography. To measure 2,5-hexanedione, urine was subjected to acid hydrolysis, separation in octadecyl silane columns, elution with 5% aqueous acetonitrile solution and extraction with dichloromethane, followed by gas chromatography. In exhaled air, n-hexane was measured with a sampling system that permitted concentration of aliquots of end-exhaled air (alveolar air) from one or more exhalations in a tube packed with activated charcoal, which was then desorbed with carbon sulfide and analyzed by gas chromatography. Concentrations of n-hexane in breathing zone air were significantly correlated with urinary concentrations of 2,5-hexanedione (r = 0.88) and with exhaled air n-hexane (r = 0.86); in addition, the two biological indicators correlated significantly (r = 0.70). Analyses in both exhaled air and urine were thus considered useful for biological monitoring of the risk of exposure to n-hexane.