TY - JOUR
T1 - Urinary 5-aminolevulinic acid in lead-exposed children
AU - Sithisarankul, Pornchai
AU - Weaver, Virginia M.
AU - Davoli, Cecilia T.
AU - Strickland, Paul T.
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank Dr Marie Diener-West for statistical advice. The research supported in part by DHHS grants ES03819, ES06052, and ES07780.
Copyright:
Copyright 2007 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 1999/7
Y1 - 1999/7
N2 - Lead intoxication can interfere with haem synthesis and alter the concentration of haem precursors, such as the neurotoxin 5-aminolevulinic acid, in plasma and urine. The relationship between blood lead concentration (PbB), a biomarker of lead exposure, and 5-aminolevulinic acid concentration in urine (ALAU), a biomarker of the early biological effect of lead, was examined in lead-exposed children. ALAU was assayed by chemical derivatization and high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. The study subjects were 79 children with moderate to high lead exposure recruited from a lead-poisoning prevention clinic. Their urine had been previously analysed for creatinine (CR) concentration and the benzene metabolite trans,trans-muconic acid, and their blood had been analysed for lead. We found that ALAU was not correlated with PbB (Spearman r = 0.088, p = 0.44), but the ratio ALAU/CR was correlated with PbB (Spearman r = 0.22, p = 0.054). Creatinine and ALAU concentrations were higher in urine samples collected in the afternoon than those collected in the morning, a finding that is consistent with known diurnal variation. However the ratio ALAU/CR was not different in morning and afternoon urines, supporting the use of creatinine adjustment of ALAU analysis of spot urine samples. In view of the neurotoxic properties of ALA, future validation studies of biomarkers of lead exposure and effect in children should include ALAU or ALAU/CR as potential markers of lead effect.
AB - Lead intoxication can interfere with haem synthesis and alter the concentration of haem precursors, such as the neurotoxin 5-aminolevulinic acid, in plasma and urine. The relationship between blood lead concentration (PbB), a biomarker of lead exposure, and 5-aminolevulinic acid concentration in urine (ALAU), a biomarker of the early biological effect of lead, was examined in lead-exposed children. ALAU was assayed by chemical derivatization and high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. The study subjects were 79 children with moderate to high lead exposure recruited from a lead-poisoning prevention clinic. Their urine had been previously analysed for creatinine (CR) concentration and the benzene metabolite trans,trans-muconic acid, and their blood had been analysed for lead. We found that ALAU was not correlated with PbB (Spearman r = 0.088, p = 0.44), but the ratio ALAU/CR was correlated with PbB (Spearman r = 0.22, p = 0.054). Creatinine and ALAU concentrations were higher in urine samples collected in the afternoon than those collected in the morning, a finding that is consistent with known diurnal variation. However the ratio ALAU/CR was not different in morning and afternoon urines, supporting the use of creatinine adjustment of ALAU analysis of spot urine samples. In view of the neurotoxic properties of ALA, future validation studies of biomarkers of lead exposure and effect in children should include ALAU or ALAU/CR as potential markers of lead effect.
KW - 5-aminolevulinic acid
KW - Children
KW - Exposure
KW - Lead
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U2 - 10.1080/135475099230813
DO - 10.1080/135475099230813
M3 - Article
C2 - 23889178
AN - SCOPUS:0032817416
SN - 1354-750X
VL - 4
SP - 281
EP - 289
JO - Biomarkers
JF - Biomarkers
IS - 4
ER -