Gender-related difference in the toxicity of 2-(2′-hydroxy-3′,5′-di-tert-butylphenyl)benzotriazole in rats: Relationship to the plasma concentration,in vitrohepatic metabolism, and effects on hepatic metabolizing enzyme activity

Exposure to benzotriazoles and benzothiazoles in Czech male population and its associations with biomarkers of liver function, serum lipids and oxidative stress

INTRODUCTION

Benzotriazoles and benzothiazoles (BTs) are high-production volume chemicals as well as widely distributed emerging pollutants with potential health risk. However, information about human exposure to BTs and associated health outcomes is limited.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to characterise exposure to BTs among Czech men, including possible occupational exposure among firefighters, its predictors, and its associations with liver function, serum lipids and oxidative stress.

METHODS

165 participants (including 110 firefighters) provided urine and blood samples that were used to quantify the urinary levels of 8 BTs (high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry), and 4 liver enzymes, cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine. Linear regression was used to assess associations with population characteristics and biomarkers of liver function, serum lipids and oxidative stress. Regression models were adjusted for potential confounding variables and false discovery rate procedure was applied to account for multiplicity.

RESULTS

The BTs ranged from undetected up to 46.8 ng/mL. 2-hydroxy-benzothiazole was the most predominant compound (detection frequency 83%; median 1.95 ng/mL). 1-methyl-benzotriazole (1M-BTR) was measured in human samples for the first time, with a detection frequency 77% and median 1.75 ng/mL. Professional firefighters had lower urinary 1M-BTR compared to non-firefighters. Urinary 1M-BTR was associated with levels of γ-glutamyl transferase (β = - 17.54%; 95% CI: - 26.127, - 7.962).

CONCLUSION

This is the first study to investigate BT exposure in Central Europe, including potentially exposed firefighters. The findings showed a high prevalence of BTs in the study population, the relevance of 1M-BTR as a new biomarker of exposure, and an urgent need for further research into associated adverse health outcomes.

Phenolic benzotriazoles: a class comparison of toxicokinetics of ultraviolet-light absorbers in male rats

Phenolic benzotriazoles are ultraviolet-light absorbers used in a variety of industrial and consumer applications. We investigated the toxicokinetic behaviour of 9 compounds, covering unsubstituted, monosubstituted, disubstituted, and trisubstituted compounds, following a single gavage (30 and 300 mg/kg) and intravenous (IV) (2.25 mg/kg) administration in male rats.Following IV administration, no distinct pattern in plasma elimination was observed for the compounds with half-lives ranging from 15.4-84.8 h. Systemic exposure parameters, maximum concentration (C_max) and area under the concentration time curve (AUC), generally increased with the degree of substitution.Following gavage administration, C_max and AUC of unsubstituted compound were lower compared to the substituted compounds. C_max and AUC increased ≤7-fold with a 10-fold increase in the dose except for the AUC of the unsubstituted compound where the increase was 30-fold. Plasma elimination half-lives for the class ranged from 1.57 to 192 h with the exception of 30 mg/kg drometrizole.Oral bioavailability was low with ∼ 6% estimated for unsubstituted compound and 12.8-23% for others at 30 mg/kg dose. Bioavailability was lower following administration of the higher dose.Taken collectively, these data point to low oral absorption of phenolic benzotriazoles. The absorption decreased with increasing dose. Substituted compounds may be less metabolized compared to the unsubstituted.

Disappearance of gender-related difference in the toxicity of benzotriazole ultraviolet absorber in juvenile rats

2-(2'-hydroxy-3',5'-di-tert-butylphenyl)benzotriazole (HDBB) is an ultraviolet absorber used in plastic resin products, such as building materials and automobile components. In oral repeated dose toxicity studies using 5- or 6-week-old rats, this chemical induced hepatic histopathological changes, such as hypertrophy accompanied with eosinophilic granular changes and focal necrosis of hepatocytes, and male rats showed nearly 25 times higher susceptibility to the toxic effects than females. Castration at approximately 4 weeks of age markedly reduced the sex-related variation in HDBB toxicity, but some difference, less than five times, remained between male and female castrated rats. Following oral HDBB administration to male and female juvenile rats from postnatal days 4-21, such gender-related difference in toxic susceptibility was not detected; therefore, it is speculated that the determinants of susceptibility to HDBB toxicity are differentiated between sexes after weaning. In young rats given HDBB, there was no gender-related difference in plasma HDBB concentration, and no metabolites were detected in the plasma of either sex. HDBB induced lauric acid 12-hydroxylase activity in the liver and this change was more pronounced in males than in females. These findings indicate that HDBB could show hepatic peroxisome proliferation activity, and the difference in the susceptibility of male and female rats to this effect might lead to marked gender-related differences in toxicity.