Environmental pollutants may act as endocrine disruptors in animals. Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) enter the food chain and may accumulate in the fatty animal tissues, including adrenals. To our knowledge, no previous study has investigated their presence in the human normal adrenal (NA) cortex and aldosterone-producing adenomas (APA). Surgical fragments of APA from 11 patients and NA from 8 kidney donors were analyzed for 16 PCBs congeners and 10 OCPs. A Matrix Solid-Phase Dispersion (MSPD) method for simultaneous determination of the target compounds in cortex homogenates was developed. A gas-chromatography triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (Triple Quad GC-MS) system was used for the analysis. Data were analyzed using Random Forest and Wilcoxon's rank-sum test. OCPs and PCBs were found in specimens from both types. A subset of pollutants characterized APA more than NA. Higher concentrations (μg g-1) in APA were observed for α-, β-, and γ- Hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) (1.48 ± 3.32 vs. 0.17 ± 0.19, P = 0.028; 2.81 ± 2.10 vs. 0.96 ± 0.98, P = 0.011; 2.16 ± 4.85 vs. 0.17 ± 0.26, P = 0.004, respectively), as well as for Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and for PCBs 28, 52 and 101 (3.41 ± 3.11 vs. 0.97 ± 1.06, P = 0.021; 2.34 ± 4.68 vs. 0.25 ± 0.22, P = 0.039; 0.58 ± 1.19 vs. 0.06 ± 0.02, P = 0.002; 0.26 ± 0.43 vs. 0.05 ± 0.00, P = 0.001, respectively). Environmental organochlorine pollutants were shown to be present in the human normal and abnormal adrenal cortex, deserving future investigation on their possible role as adrenal endocrine disruptors in human disease.

Evidence for persistent organochlorine pollutants in the human adrenal cortex

Fommei, Enza
Primo
;
Morelli, Luca
Penultimo
;
Coi, Alessio
Ultimo
2017-01-01

Abstract

Environmental pollutants may act as endocrine disruptors in animals. Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) enter the food chain and may accumulate in the fatty animal tissues, including adrenals. To our knowledge, no previous study has investigated their presence in the human normal adrenal (NA) cortex and aldosterone-producing adenomas (APA). Surgical fragments of APA from 11 patients and NA from 8 kidney donors were analyzed for 16 PCBs congeners and 10 OCPs. A Matrix Solid-Phase Dispersion (MSPD) method for simultaneous determination of the target compounds in cortex homogenates was developed. A gas-chromatography triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (Triple Quad GC-MS) system was used for the analysis. Data were analyzed using Random Forest and Wilcoxon's rank-sum test. OCPs and PCBs were found in specimens from both types. A subset of pollutants characterized APA more than NA. Higher concentrations (μg g-1) in APA were observed for α-, β-, and γ- Hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) (1.48 ± 3.32 vs. 0.17 ± 0.19, P = 0.028; 2.81 ± 2.10 vs. 0.96 ± 0.98, P = 0.011; 2.16 ± 4.85 vs. 0.17 ± 0.26, P = 0.004, respectively), as well as for Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and for PCBs 28, 52 and 101 (3.41 ± 3.11 vs. 0.97 ± 1.06, P = 0.021; 2.34 ± 4.68 vs. 0.25 ± 0.22, P = 0.039; 0.58 ± 1.19 vs. 0.06 ± 0.02, P = 0.002; 0.26 ± 0.43 vs. 0.05 ± 0.00, P = 0.001, respectively). Environmental organochlorine pollutants were shown to be present in the human normal and abnormal adrenal cortex, deserving future investigation on their possible role as adrenal endocrine disruptors in human disease.
2017
Fommei, Enza; Turci, Roberta; Ripoli, Andrea; Balzan, Silvana; Bianchi, Fabrizio; Morelli, Luca; Coi, Alessio
File in questo prodotto:
Non ci sono file associati a questo prodotto.

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11568/863764
 Attenzione

Attenzione! I dati visualizzati non sono stati sottoposti a validazione da parte dell'ateneo

Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? 3
  • Scopus 13
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 12
social impact