Organobromine compound profiling in human adipose: Assessment of sources of bromophenol

Shixiong Gao; Yi Wan; Guomao Zheng; Kai Luo; Kurunthachalam Kannan; John P Giesy; Michael H W Lam; Jianying Hu

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2015.04.015

Organobromine compound profiling in human adipose: Assessment of sources of bromophenol

Environ Pollut. 2015 Sep:204:81-9. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2015.04.015. Epub 2015 Apr 29.

Authors

Shixiong Gao¹, Yi Wan², Guomao Zheng¹, Kai Luo¹, Kurunthachalam Kannan³, John P Giesy⁴, Michael H W Lam⁵, Jianying Hu¹

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
² Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China. Electronic address: wany@urban.pku.edu.cn.
³ Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health and Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, State University of New York, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12201-0509, USA.
⁴ Dept. Biomedical Veterinary Sciences and Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B3, Canada; Department of Zoology and Center for Integrative Toxicology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA; Department of Biology & Chemistry and State Key Laboratory in Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, SAR, China.
⁵ Department of Biology & Chemistry and State Key Laboratory in Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, SAR, China.

PMID: 25935608
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2015.04.015

Abstract

Bromophenols (BRPs) have been widely detected in human tissues, however, relative proportions from natural products and/or anthropogenic flame retardants are not clear. 21 polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), 15 MeO/OH-PBDEs, and 10 BRPs were simultaneously quantified in adipose collected from people from New York City, USA. An in vitro assay utilizing human liver microsomes was performed for detected predominant organobromine. High concentrations of 2,4,6-triBRP and PBDEs were observed, and extremely low concentrations of naturally occurring MeO/OH-PBDEs were detected. Similar biotransformatioin rates of BRPs and MeO/OH-PBDEs indicated that the relative high concentration of 2,4,6-triBRP in humans was not of natural origin. Significant correlation observed between concentrations of 2,4,6-triBRP and BDE-209 suggested that the two chemicals may share a common source. Both 2,4,6-triBRP and BDE-209 were detected in commercial ABS resins, suggesting that plastic products made from ABS resins could be potential sources of co-exposure of the two compounds for humans.

Keywords: Adipose tissue; Anthropogenic compounds; BRPs; Co-exposure; GC–NCI–MS; Organobromine compounds.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adipose Tissue / chemistry*
Adipose Tissue / metabolism
Adult
Environmental Monitoring
Female
Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers / analysis
Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers / metabolism
Humans
Male
Microsomes, Liver / chemistry
Microsomes, Liver / metabolism
Middle Aged
New York City
Polybrominated Biphenyls / analysis*
Polybrominated Biphenyls / metabolism
Young Adult

Substances

Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers
Polybrominated Biphenyls
decabromobiphenyl ether