Detection of antibodies to the benzo(a)pyrene diol epoxide-DNA adducts in sera from individuals exposed to low doses of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

The exposure to DNA reactive carcinogens is known to elicit a specific humo ral immunological response, with the production of antibodies toward the ca rcinogen adducts. Consequently, the presence of circulating anti-carcinogen antibodies has been proposed as a marker of carcinogen exposure, and as a potential modulating factor in chemical carcinogenesis. In this work, the p resence of serum antibodies to 7 beta ,8 alpha -dihydroxy-9 alpha 10 alpha -epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene-DNA (BPDE-DNA) adducts. was determ ined in two groups of workers occupationally exposed to low doses of polycy clic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), i.e. policemen (194 subjects) and worker s in the aluminum industry (105 subjects). Specific anti BPDE-DNA antibodie s were detected in 5.7% (11/194) of policemen and 13.3% (14/105) of alumini um industry workers. Among policemen, a small, not significant (p=0.09), pr evalence of positives was observed in traffic wardens compared to office wo rkers. A borderline significant (p=0.052) prevalence of positives was also observed in heavy smokers compared to light smokers among aluminium. indust ry workers. These results basically support previous findings on the associ ation between chronic exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and form ation of anti- BPDE-DNA antibodies, even though such association appears to be weak, possibly biased by individual factors which are still largely uni dentified.