Associations of multiple exposures to persistent toxic substances with the risk of hyperuricemia and subclinical uric acid levels in BIOAMBIENT.ES study.

Hyperuricemia is becoming a serious public health issue, which is highly influenced by environmental factors, although there is still controversial information on the potential influence of the exposure to Persistent Toxic Substances (PTSs) in the general population. In this study we aimed to assess the association. PTS exposure with uric acid homeostasis in a sample of the Spanish population. Participants were recruited during 2009-2010 in all the main geographical areas of Spain. Exposure to 34 PTSs was estimated by chemical analyses of serum levels of 6 Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs, n = 950), 13 Organochlorine Pesticides (OCPs, n = 453), 6 Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAs, n = 755), 7 Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs, n = 365), urinary Cadmium (n = 926), and Lead in whole blood (n = 882). The two study outcomes were defined as the prevalence of hyperuricemia in the study population and uric acid levels, the latter only in individuals with no previous diagnosis of hyperuricemia. Statistical analyses were performed by means of binomial logistic regression and linear regression, and mixture effects were screened using Weighted Quantile Sum Regression (WQS). Serum concentrations of γ-HCH, o,p´-DDE, PCB-138, PCB-153, PFOA, and urinary Cadmium were associated with an increased risk of hyperuricemia, while PBDE-153 showed an inverse association with the effect. Furthermore, exposure to Cadmium, PCB-138, and to PCB-153 was positively associated with uric acid levels. Results were consistent after lipid adjustment or standardization. WQS analyses revealed a major contribution of PCB-153 within the PCB mixture on both the risk of hyperuricemia and uric acid levels. Sensitivity analyses were performed by adjusting for dietary habits, fasting glucose and estimated glomerular filtration rate. Overall, we found novel associations between human exposure to mixtures of PTSs and disturbances in uric acid homeostasis. However, we cannot completely rule out potential residual confounding effect or reversed-causality related to the cross-sectional design.

Anti-smoking legislation and its effects on urinary cotinine and cadmium levels.

Anti-smoking legislation has been associated with an improvement in health indicators. Since the cadmium (Cd) body burden in the general population is markedly increased by smoke exposure, we analyzed the impact of the more restrictive legislation that came into force in Spain in 2011 by measuring Cd and cotinine in first morning urine samples from 83 adults in Madrid (Spain) before (2010) and after (2011) introduction of this law. Individual pair-wise comparisons showed a reduction of creatinine corrected Cotinine and Cd levels for non-active smokers, i. e. those which urinary cotinine levels are below 50 µg/L. After the application of the stricter law, cotinine levels in urine only decreased in non-active smokers who self-reported not to be exposed to second-hand smoke. The reduction in second hand smoke exposure was significantly higher in weekends (Friday to Sunday) than in working days (Monday to Thursday). The decrease in U-Cd was highly significant in non-active smokers and, in general, correlated with lower creatinine excretion. Therefore correction by creatinine could bias urinary Cd results, at least for cotinine levels higher than 500 µg/L. The biochemical/toxicological benefits detected herein support the stricter application of anti-smoking legislation and emphasize the need to raise the awareness of the population as regards exposure at home.

Blood lead levels in a representative sample of the Spanish adult population: the BIOAMBIENT.ES project.

This paper provides the first baseline information on a national scale regarding lead exposure in the Spanish adult population. Blood lead levels were measured in a representative sample of the Spanish working population (1880 subjects aged 18-65 years) in order to help establish reference levels, follow temporal trends, identify high-exposure groups and to enable comparisons with other countries. All participants completed an epidemiological questionnaire including gender, age, occupational sector, geographic area, and dietary and lifestyle information. We found that the geometric mean of blood lead levels in the study population was 24.0µg/L (95% CI: 23.0-25.1µg/L), with women having significantly lower levels than men, 19.5µg/L (18.5-20.5µg/L) compared to 28.3µg/L (26.7-30.0µg/L), respectively. Mean blood lead levels were higher in elder groups in both genders. Women of a childbearing age had blood levels of 18.0µg/L (GM). Reference values (95%) for lead in blood in the studied population was 56.80µg/L, with -64.00µg/L, 44.80µg/L and 36.00µg/L for man, women and women of childbearing age, respectively. Workers from the service sector had lower blood lead levels than those from the construction, agricultural and industry sectors. Small, although significant, geographical differences had been found. In an European comparison, the Spanish population studied herein had lead levels similar to populations in countries such as France and Belgium, and slightly lower levels than Italian, Czech, German or UK populations.

Laccases and their natural mediators: biotechnological tools for sustainable eco-friendly processes.

Laccases are oxidoreductases which oxidize a variety of aromatic compounds using oxygen as the electron acceptor and producing water as by-product. The interest for these old enzymes (first described in 19th century) has progressively increased due to their outstanding biotechnological applicability. The presence of redox mediators is required for a number of biotechnological applications, providing the oxidation of complex substrates not oxidized by the enzyme alone. The efficiency of laccase-mediator systems to degrade recalcitrant compounds has been demonstrated, but still the high cost and possible toxicity of artificial mediators hamper their application at the industrial scale. Here, we present a general outlook of how alternative mediators can change this tendency. We focus on phenolic compounds related to lignin polymer that promotes the in vitro transformation of recalcitrant non-phenolic structures by laccase and are seemingly the natural mediators of laccases. The use of eco-friendly mediators easily available from lignocellulose, could contribute to the industrial implementation of laccases and the development of the 21th century biorefineries.

P-hydroxycinnamic acids as natural mediators for laccase oxidation of recalcitrant compounds.

The capabilities of p-coumaric acid (PCA), ferulic acid (FA), and sinapic acid (SA) as laccase mediators are compared in oxidation of industrial dyes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). SA behaved as highly efficient mediator in decolorization of dyes, including the recalcitrant Reactive Black 5. This mediating capacity was related to the specificity constant of the enzyme oxidizing this p-hydroxycinnamic acid, which was 16 times higher than for the typical substrate 2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS). The kinetics of ABTS oxidation by laccase in the presence of p-hydroxycinnamic acids suggested that the stable phenoxyl radical of a SA transformation product acts as laccase mediator. On the other hand, FA and, especially PCA, easily mediated benzo[a]pyrene oxidation, the latter also promoting the oxidation of the more recalcitrant phenanthrene. Phenanthrene transformation by laccase-PCA was enhanced by Tween 80. This fact, together with the detection of TBARS (thiobarbituric acid-reactive-substances) from unsaturated fatty acids, revealed that laccase can also initiate lipid peroxidation reactions in the presence of p-hydroxycinnamic acids enabling oxidation of the most recalcitrant PAH.

Transformation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by laccase is strongly enhanced by phenolic compounds present in soil.

Efficient transformation of several polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was obtained using a fungal laccase in the presence of phenolic compounds related to those formed in nature during the turnover of lignin and humus. The effect of these natural mediators, namely vanillin, acetovanillone, acetosyringone, syringaldehyde, 2,4,6-trimethylphenol, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, and sinapic acid, was compared with that of synthetic mediators such as 2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate) (ABTS) and 1-hydroxybenzotriazole (HBT). Anthracene was significantly degraded by laccase in the absence of mediators, whereas benzo[a]pyrene and pyrene were weakly transformed (less than 15% after 24 h). Vanillin, acetovanillone, 2,4,6-trimethylphenol, and, above all, p-coumaric acid strongly promoted the removal of PAHs by laccase. 9,10-Anthraquinone was the main product detected from anthracene oxidation by all the laccase-mediator systems. The yield of anthraquinone formed was directly correlated with the amount of p-coumaric acid used. This compound resulted in a better laccase mediator than ABTS and close similarity to HBT, attaining 95% removal of anthracene and benzo[a]pyrene and around 50% of pyrene within 24 h. Benzo[a]pyrene 1,6-, 3,6-, and 6,12-quinones were produced during benzo[a]pyrene oxidation with laccase and p-coumaric acid, HBT, or ABTS as mediators, although use of the latter mediator gave further oxidation products that were not produced by the two other systems.