Background: Coke-oven workers (COWs) are occupationally exposed to high concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Urinary 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG) and 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) are biological markers of oxidative DNA damage and PAHs metabolism, respectively. In this study, we investigated whether polymorphisms of glutathione S-transferase (GSTM1 and GSTT1) can modulate the relationship between urinary 8-OH-dG and 1-OHP concentrations among the COWs.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Between February and November of 2001, 53 topside-oven and 130 side-oven workers with the presence of GSTM1 and GSTT1 genotypes were investigated.
Results: Urinary 1-OHP and 8-OH-dG concentrations (mean +/- SD) in the topside-oven workers with the presence of GSTM1 were 107.2 +/- 107.9 and 15.3 +/- 9.7 ng/ml, respectively, which were not significantly different from those in the absence of GSTM1 (84.1 +/- 104.5 and 12.8 +/- 14.1 ng/ml). The similar insignificant results were also noted in the sideoven workers. For GSTT1 polymorphism, the results remained insignificant. In contrast, individual excretion of urinary 8-OH-dG and 1-OHP concentrations were still highly correlated (Spearman correlation coefficients: r = 0.43, P < 0.0001, n = 183).
Conclusions: GST may not play a role in the regulation of metabolism of urinary biological markers in COWs.