Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “BUTADIENE”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

Species differences in urinary butadiene metabolites: comparisons of metabolite ratios between mice, rats, and humans.

We have previously identified two metabolites, 1,2-dihydroxy-4-(N-acetylcysteinyl-S-)-butane (M-I) and 1-hydroxy-2-(N-acetylcysteinyl-S-)-3-butene (M-II) in the urine of mice, rats, hamsters, and monkeys exposed by inhalation to 8000 ppm [14C]butadiene. The sum of these two metabolites constituted between 50 and 90% of the total urinary [14C]butadiene equivalents. When comparing species, the ratios of excreted M-I relative to the total of M-I + M-II were linearly related to hepatic epoxide hydrolase activities, with mice displaying the lowest ratios and monkeys displaying the highest ratios. Because humans are known to have epoxide hydrolase activities more similar to those of monkeys than mice, we postulated that after inhalation of butadiene, humans would excrete predominantly M-I and little M-II. To address this hypothesis, we measured the two metabolites in the urine of workers occupationally exposed to butadiene. We initially developed an assay to measure the two metabolites in urine using techniques not dependent on radiolabeled compounds. The assay is based on isotope-dilution gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy. After addition of deuterated internal standards, the metabolites were isolated from urine samples by solid-phase extraction and selective precipitation. The metabolites were converted to volatile derivatives by trimethylsilylation prior to analysis. The assay is sensitive down to at least 100 ng/ml of both metabolites in urine. The assay was applied to urine samples of humans occupationally exposed to butadiene in a production plant. M-I, but not M-II, could be readily identified and quantitated in the urine samples at levels frequently greater than 1 microgram/ml, thus supporting our hypothesis. Employees who worked in production areas with historical atmospheric concentrations of 3-4 ppm butadiene could be distinguished as a group from those outside controls. Finally, mice and rats were exposed to 11.7 ppm butadiene for 4 hr, and the ratio of the two metabolites was measured. For mice, the ratios of M-I to M-I + M-II were similar to those reported previously following exposure to 8000 ppm. In contrast, for rats, M-I represented a higher proportion of the excreted metabolites at the lower exposure level. These results confirm earlier in vitro studies that suggested the predominant pathway for clearance of BDO in humans is by hydrolysis rather than direct conjugation with glutathione.

Acetylcysteine↗

Species differences in butadiene metabolism between mice and rats evaluated by inhalation pharmacokinetics.

Metabolism of 1,3-butadiene to 1,2-epoxybutene-3 in rats follows saturation kinetics. Comparative investigation of inhalation pharmacokinetics in mice also revealed a saturation pattern. For both species "linear" pharmacokinetics apply at exposure concentrations below 1000 ppm 1,3-butadiene; saturation of butadiene metabolism is observed at atmospheric concentrations of about 2000 ppm. For mice metabolic clearance per kg body weight in the lower concentration range where first order metabolism applies was 7300 ml X h-1 (rat: 4500 ml X h-1. Maximal metabolic elimination rate (Vmax) was 400 mumol X h-1 X kg-1 (rat: 220 mumol X h-1 X kg-1. This shows that 1,3-butadiene is metabolized by mice at higher rates compared to rats. Based on these investigations, the metabolic elimination rates of butadiene in both species were calculated for the exposure concentrations applied in two inhalation bioassays with rats and with mice. The results show that the higher rate of butadiene metabolism in mice when compared to rats may only in part be responsible for the considerable difference in the susceptibility of both species to butadiene-induced carcinogenesis.

Animals↗

DNA damage in lung cells in vivo and in vitro by 1,3-butadiene and nitrogen dioxide and their photochemical reaction products.

A UV-irradiated mixture of 1,3-butadiene and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) was tested for its potency to induce DNA damage measured as single-strand breaks (SSB) in lungs of mice. Both gases were also tested separately. After 16 h exposure a UV-irradiated mixture of 40 ppm butadiene + 20 ppm NO2, but not 20 ppm butadiene + 10 ppm NO2 + UV, induced a significant increase in SSB as measured by the alkaline unwinding technique. There was no increase in the level of SSB using the alkaline elution technique during the same testing conditions. However, after 5 h exposure to 60 ppm butadiene + 30 ppm NO2 + UV both methods demonstrated a significant increase in SSB. Mice were also exposed to butadiene at 80 and 200 ppm for 16 h and at 500 ppm for 5 h. DNA damage was demonstrated in both liver and lung after 5 and 16 h (only at 200 ppm) of exposure using the unwinding technique. Using the alkaline elution assay, a significant increase in the level of SSB in lung and liver was found only after 5 h of exposure. When mice were exposed to 30 ppm NO2 for 16 h or 50 ppm for 5 h, a significant increase in SSB was found with the unwinding technique. Alveolar macrophages from mice were also exposed in vitro to the gas mixture and to butadiene and NO2 separately. In these experiments, the DNA damage was studied with the unwinding technique. A significant effect was demonstrated with 40 ppm butadiene + 20 ppm NO2 + UV. NO2 itself contributed to some extent to the increase. Reasons for the discrepancies between the unwinding and the alkaline elution techniques are discussed.

Air Pollutants↗

Molecular and genetic toxicology of 1,3-butadiene.

During the last 9 years, there have been many studies published concerning the mutagenic potential of butadiene in mammalian systems, including alterations at the molecular level. Butadiene has tested positive in several mouse in vivo and in vitro assays, but has generally tested negative in rat studies. Most of these studies are cytogenetic and include positive data in mice for chromosomal aberrations, micronucleus formation, and sister chromatid exchanges. Butadiene also induces mutations in lung, spleen, and bone marrow of transgenic mice. The positive bone marrow cytogenetic and transgenic data may be significant in view of the increased lymphohematopoietic malignancies observed in mice and probably in humans. In addition, butadiene causes mutations in the K-ras protooncogene and in the p53 tumor suppressor gene in mouse studies. Mutations in these genes are associated with oncogenesis in humans as well as in rodents. Also, positive mutagenicity data have been obtained in a pilot study of workers exposed to butadiene. Positive dominant lethal studies in rodents suggest that exposure to butadiene can result in germ cell mutation and heritable risk. These mutagenicity and molecular data suggest that butadiene is both a somatic and germ cell mutagen in mammals, possibly including humans.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗

Metabolism of butadiene by mice, rats, and humans: a comparison of physiologically based toxicokinetic model predictions and experimental data.

1,3-Butadiene is a carcinogen in rats and mice, with mice being substantially more sensitive than rats. Our recent research is directed toward obtaining a better understanding of the cancer risk of butadiene in humans by evaluating species-dependent differences in the formation of the toxic metabolites epoxybutene and diepoxybutane. The recent data include in vitro studies on butadiene metabolism using tissues from humans, rats, and mice as well as experimental data and physiological model predictions for butadiene in blood and butadiene epoxides in blood, lung, and liver after exposure of rats and mice to inhaled butadiene. The findings suggest that humans would be more like rats and less like mice regarding the formation of butadiene epoxides. These research findings permit a reassessment of some default options that are used in carcinogen risk assessments. The research approach employed can be a useful strategy for developing mechanistic and toxicokinetic data to supplant default assumptions used in carcinogen risk assessments.

Animals↗

Biological monitoring for mutagenic effects of occupational exposure to butadiene.

The use of biological markers in the evaluation of human exposure to hazardous agents has increased rapidly in recent years. Because 1,3-butadiene is a mutagenic carcinogen, existing occupational levels of exposure may be appropriately evaluated using somatic cell mutation as a biomarker. Previously, we have described a biomarker study of workers in a butadiene monomer plant (Ward et al., 1994). We now report results from a second study of the same group of workers, conducted after plant modernization, and present preliminary results from a study of exposures in a styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) plant. Air levels of butadiene were determined using either charcoal tubes with air pumps or passive badge dosimeters. The quantity of a butadiene metabolite in the urine was used as a biomarker of exposure and the mutagenic effects of exposure were measured using the autoradiographic hprt mutant lymphocyte assay. In all three studies, the frequencies of hprt mutants were significantly elevated in workers from the areas of highest exposure when compared to workers from lower exposure areas or non-exposed subjects. The concentration of the urinary metabolite was significantly increased in high-exposed workers in the first study of monomer plant workers but not in the second. In the first monomer plant study, historical air concentrations of butadiene were higher in the production units than in the central control unit. While concurrent determined air concentrations were not elevated in the second monomer plant study, they were elevated in high exposure areas in the SBR plant study. Mutant frequencies in the lower-exposure and the non-exposed groups were consistent with historical values for non-smoking individuals who were not exposed to known mutagens. The use of biomarkers, including the hprt mutant lymphocyte assay, may be of great value in determining an appropriate occupational exposure limit for butadiene.

Butadienes↗

Mortality study of workers employed in 1,3-butadiene production units identified from a large chemical workers cohort.

The IARC has given the designations of "sufficient evidence" of carcinogenicity of 1,3-butadiene in experimental animals and "limited evidence" of carcinogenicity in humans. To investigate the carcinogenic effect in humans, a cohort mortality study was conducted among 364 men who were assigned to any of three 1,3-butadiene production units located within several chemical plants in the Kanawha Valley of West Virginia, including 277 men employed in a U.S. Rubber Reserve Plant which operated during World War II. The butadiene production units included in this study were selected from an index developed by the Union Carbide Corporation which listed for each chemical production unit within their South Charleston and Institute plants all products, by-products and reactants. Departments included in the study were those where butadiene was a primary product and neither benzene nor ethylene oxide was present. A total of 185 deaths were observed; the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) for all causes of death was 91, reflecting lower mortality among the study population than the U.S. population. The study found a significantly elevated standardized mortality ratio (SMR) for lymphosarcoma and reticulosarcoma based on four observed cases (SMR = 577; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 157-1480), which persisted in an analysis using county referent rates. An excess of lymphosarcoma and reticulosarcoma among all workers and among workers with routine exposure to 1,3-butadiene was also observed in the only other cohort of 1,3-butadiene production workers previously studied. A statistically non-significant excess of stomach cancer was observed in the overall cohort (five cases; SMR = 243; CI = 79-568) that was most pronounced among workers employed in the Rubber Reserve plant for 2 or more years (five cases; SMR = 657; CI = 213-1530). We conclude that the results of this study add to the weight of evidence suggesting that butadiene is carcinogenic in humans.

Aged↗

Depletion of hepatic non-protein sulfhydryl content during exposure of rats and mice to butadiene.

B6C3F1 mice, Sprague-Dawley and Wistar rats were exposed to 1,3-butadiene in a closed exposure system. Exposure concentrations were kept above 2000 ppm to ensure saturation of butadiene metabolism in both species (Vmax conditions). Hepatic non-protein sulfhydryl (NPSH) content was determined in butadiene-exposed animals (and air-exposed controls) after exposures for 0, 7 and 15 h. Depletion of hepatic NPSH content was different for the species and strains investigated. In mice, hepatic NPSH content declined to about 20% after 7 h and was further depleted to about 4% at 15 h when signs of acute toxicity were observed. After a 7 h exposure of rats to butadiene, hepatic NPSH content was depleted to about 65% (Wistar) or 80% (Sprague-Dawley) of the corresponding controls but remained practically stable after a 15 h exposure to butadiene. The time-courses of depletion by butadiene of hepatic NPSH support previous findings on differences in butadiene metabolism between rats and mice and offer an additional explanation for the considerable species differences observed in the toxicity and carcinogenicity of this compound.

Animals↗

Concentration-dependent depletion of non-protein sulfhydryl (NPSH) content in lung, heart and liver tissue of rats and mice after acute inhalation exposure to butadiene.

The effects of different exposure concentrations of butadiene on the cellular non-protein sulfhydryl (NPSH) content of liver, lung and heart tissue were investigated in B6C3F1 mice and Sprague-Dawley rats. Groups of male animals of both species were exposed for 7 h to 10, 50, 100, 250, 500, 1000 and 2000 ppm butadiene. Immediately after exposure, NPSH content of liver, lung and heart tissue was determined according to a modified Ellman procedure. A comparison of both species shows that a dose-dependent NPSH depletion can be observed in mice for all tissues examined. In rats, liver NPSH content shows a major reduction at high exposure concentrations only. In mice, depletion of NPSH content of liver, lung and heart tissue starts at exposure concentrations of about 250 ppm butadiene. A reduction in NPSH content of about 80% is observed for lung tissue at 1000 ppm and for liver and heart tissue at exposure concentrations of 2000 ppm butadiene. The data on tissue concentrations of NPSH obtained after exposure of rats and mice to butadiene reflect the quantitative differences in butadiene metabolism and in biological effectivity of reactive butadiene intermediates between both species.

Animals↗

Exposure and risk assessment of 1,3-butadiene in Japan.

1,3-Butadiene is on the list of Substances Requiring Priority Action published by the Central Environmental Council of Japan in 1996. Emission of 1,3-butadiene has been controlled by a voluntary reduction program since 1997. Although the industrial emission of 1,3-butadiene in Japan has decreased in recent years, primarily due to a voluntary industrial emissions reduction program, the risks of exposure to it remain largely unknown. We assessed the risks and consequences of exposure to 1,3-butadiene on human health. A remarkable advantage of our risk assessment approach is the detailed assessment of exposure. Previously, we developed two different models that can be applied for the assessment of exposure: the first, the AIST-ADMER model estimates regional concentration distributions, whereas the second, the METI-LIS model estimates concentration distributions in the vicinity of factories. Both models were used for the assessment of exposure to 1,3-butadiene. Using exposure concentration and carcinogenic potency determined and reported by Environment Canada and Health Canada, we evaluated the excess lifetime cancer risk for persons exposed to 1,3-butadiene over the course of a lifetime. The results suggested that the majority of the population in Japan has an excess lifetime cancer risk of less than 10(-5), whereas a small number of people living close to industrial sources had a risk of greater than 10(-5). The results of the present assessment also showed that 1,3-butadiene in the general environment originates primarily from automobile emissions, such that a countermeasure of reducing emissions from cars is expected to be effective at reducing the total cancer risk among Japanese. On the other hand, individual risks among a population living in the vicinity of certain industrial sources were found to be significantly higher than those of the population living elsewhere, such that a reduction in emissions from a small number of specific industrial sources should be realized in order to reduce the high level of individual risk. Based on the results of our assessment, the Industrial Structure Council of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) in Japan decided to announce that the voluntary reduction program had been successful, and that emissions reductions should no longer be targeted across all industries in general, but instead that such reductions should be carried out in a small number of selected factories that emit excessively large amounts of emissions.

Air Pollutants↗

Dose-response implications of the University of Alabama study of lymphohematopoietic cancer among workers exposed to 1,3-butadiene and styrene in the synthetic rubber industry.

New quantitative cancer risk estimates for exposure to 1,3-butadiene are presented. These estimates are based on the most recent human epidemiologic data developed by Drs Delzell and Macaluso and their colleagues at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The implications of Poisson regression analyses of the relative rate for leukemia are explored using their updated dose estimates and lymphohematopoietic cancer data. The Poisson regression model in these analyses has the same form as in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s draft risk assessment of 1,3-butadiene [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Health Risk Assessment of 1,3-Butadiene - External Review Draft, National Center for Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and Development, 63 Fed. Reg. 7167 (February 12, 1998) Publication NCEA-W-0267, Washington, 1998]. Consistent with the proposed cancer risk assessment guidelines of the EPA and the EPA's draft risk assessment, the exploration includes the maximum likelihood estimate of the 'effective concentration' (EC(01)) corresponding to an extra risk of leukemia of 0.01 (1%) from a lifetime continuous exposure to 1,3-butadiene based on a linear dose-response model and the cumulative 1,3-butadiene dose metric (ppm-years). The incorporation of the most recent exposure estimates results in a 2.5-fold decrease in the estimates of leukemia risks computed by EPA. In addition, three changes proposed by the American Chemistry Council (formerly the Chemical Manufacturers Association) to the EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB) for EPA's draft risk assessment of 1,3-butadiene are incorporated into the calculation. This results in approximately an additional fivefold decrease in the risk estimates of leukemia. The leukemia cancer risk estimates in the EPA's draft risk assessment of 1,3-butadiene decrease by approximately a factor of 13-fold when the updated epidemiologic data and the alternative numbers proposed by industry to the SAB are both incorporated. Specifically, the maximum likelihood estimate of the EC(01) increases from EPA's 1.2 ppm to 2.8 ppm on the basis of the updated epidemiologic data and increases further to 15.1 ppm when the CMA's proposed changes are also incorporated.

Alabama↗

Reproductive toxicity of 1,3-butadiene in the mouse: cytogenetic analysis of chromosome aberrations in first-cleavage embryos and flow cytometric evaluation of spermatogonial cell killing.

Reproductive effects of 1,3 butadiene inhalation have been evaluated in male mice by reduction of post-meiotic germ cells, alteration of sperm chromatin structure and transmission of chromosome aberrations to one-cell embryos. Animals were exposed for 5 consecutive days for 6 h per day to butadiene concentrations of 130, 500 or 1300 ppm. The testicular fraction of post-meiotic germ cells was measured by flow cytometric analysis on the basis of their DNA content. Round spermatids were discriminated from mature, elongated spermatids by their different degree of chromatin condensation. Butadiene-induced cytotoxic effects on differentiating spermatogonia were shown by a concentration-dependent decrease of round spermatids occurring 21 days after chemical exposure, confirmed by a similar decrease of elongated spermatids measured in testes sampled 7 days later. Statistically significant effects were seen already at 130 ppm. An incomplete repopulation of the elongated spermatid compartment observed 35 days after exposure to 1300 ppm suggested that, at the highest concentration tested, butadiene toxicity extended to stem cells. Alterations of sperm chromatin were revealed by its increased sensitivity to acidic denaturation in situ. The percentage of abnormal sperm was significantly increased after butadiene exposure of differentiating spermatogonia and spermatocytes. This suggested the induction of persistent effects interfering with chromatin remodelling during spermiogenesis. Chromosome-type structural aberrations were significantly elevated in first-cleavage embryos conceived by males mated during the first and second week after the end of exposure. The lowest effective tested concentration was 500 ppm, the same reported for dominant lethal induction under identical exposure conditions. As in the dominant lethal assay, the effect of this dose was confined to exposed sperm, while both sperm and late spermatids were affected by the inhalation of 1300 ppm. A quantitative comparison between the effects induced by intraperitoneal injections of diepoxybutane or butadiene inhalations suggested that other reactive intermediates, in addition to diepoxybutane, might contribute to mediate butadiene-induced reproductive toxicity.

Animals↗

Gas chromatographic determination of 3-butene-1,2-diol in urine samples after 1,3-butadiene exposure.

1,3-Butadiene is an important industrial chemical and a common environmental contaminant. Because of its suspected carcinogenicity butadiene-related research has gained high activity. The obvious lack of knowledge so far has been that a biomonitoring method that can detect at least one of the metabolites of butadiene from body fluids or excretas does not exist. In this communication we describe a robust and simple analytical method which can be applied for biomonitoring purposes. We have developed a method that can detect 3-butene-1,2-diol in urine samples of rats inhalation-exposed to various concentrations of 1,3-butadiene. The method is based on liquid-liquid extraction and subsequent gas chromatographic analysis. The extraction efficiency of 3-butene-1,2-diol at a concentration of 2.2 microg/ml was 95% (SD=+/-3%, n=3) and was achieved by using sodium chloride saturation and isopropanol as an extracting solvent. The standard deviation of the gas chromatographic analysis was +/-2% (n=12), the limit of detection was 0.08 microg/ml, the limit of quantitation was 0.11 microg/ml (SD=+/-4.8%, n=3) and the analysis was observed to be linear from 0.11 to 486 microg/ml (R=0.9987). Animals exposed to 1,3-butadiene showed a linear excretion of 3-butene-1,2-diol into urine as a function of butadiene exposure. During the exposure saturation of metabolism or accumulation of 1,3-butadiene or 3-butene-1,2-diol into the body was not observed in any exposure levels used.

Animals↗

Formation and reaction of hydroxycarbonyls from the reaction of OH radicals with 1,3-butadiene and isoprene.

1,3-Butadiene and isoprene (2-methyl-1,3-butadiene) are emitted into the atmosphere in vehicle exhaust and, in the case of isoprene, from vegetation. We have investigated the formation and further reaction of products of their hydroxyl radical-initiated reactions using atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometry (API-MS) and solid-phase microextraction fibers precoated with O-(2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorobenzyl)hydroxylamine for on-fiber derivatization of carbonyl compounds, with subsequent analysis by thermal desorption and gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (SPME/GC-FID) or MS detection. Products attributed as HOCH2CH=CHCHO and HOCH2CH=CHCH2ONO2 (and isomers) from 1,3-butadiene; HOCD2CD=CDCDO and HOCD2CD=CDCD2ONO2 (and isomers) from 1,3-butadiene-d6; HOCH2C(CH3)=CHCHO and/or HOCH2CH=C(CH3)CHO, and HOCH2C(CH3)=CHCH2ONO2 (and isomers) from isoprene; and HOCD2C(CD3)=CDCDO and/or HOCD2CD=C(CD3)CDO, and HOCD2C(CD3)=CDCD2ONO2 (and isomers) from isoprene-d8 were observed as their NO2- adducts in the API-MS analyses. The hydroxycarbonyls were observed from SPME/GC-FID analyses of the 1,3-butadiene and isoprene reactions as their oximes, together with acrolein, glycolaldehyde, and glyoxal from the 1,3-butadiene reaction. A rate constant for the reaction of OH radicals with 4-hydroxy-2-butenal of (5.7 +/- 1.4) x 10(-11) cm3 molecule(-1) s(-1) at 298 +/- 2 K was derived, and formation yields of acrolein and 4-hydroxy-2-butenal from the 1,3-butadiene reaction of 58 +/- 10% and 25 (+15/-10)%, respectively, were determined. Analogous experiments showed that the two C5-hydroxycarbonyls formed from isoprene have rate constants for their reactions with OH radicals of (1.0 +/- 0.3) x 10(-10) cm3 molecule(-1) s(-1) and (4 +/- 2) x 10(-11) cm3 molecule(-1) s(-1) and a combined yield of approximately 15%, although isomer-specific identification of the hydroxycarbonyls was not achieved.

Acrolein↗

Can NO(2) be used to indicate ambient and personal levels of benzene and 1,3-butadiene in air?

The aim of this study was to investigate the relation between two toxic volatile organic compounds, 1,3-butadiene and benzene, and a commonly used indicator of vehicle exhaust fumes, NO(2). This was to see if NO(2) can be used to indicate personal exposure to carcinogenic substances or at least estimate ambient levels measured at a stationary point. During the winter of 2001, 40 randomly selected persons living in the City of Umea (in the north of Sweden) were recruited to the study. Personal measurements of 1,3-butadiene, benzene and NO(2) were performed for one week, and were repeated for 20 of the 40 participants. Additional information was gathered using a diary kept by each participant. During the same time period weekly stationary measurements were performed at one urban background station and one street station in the city centre. The results from the personal measurements showed a negligible association of NO(2) with 1,3-butadiene (r= 0.06) as well as with benzene (r= 0.10), while the correlation coefficient between 1,3-butadiene and benzene was high and significant (r= 0.67). In contrast to the personal measurements, the stationary measurements showed strong relations between 1,3-butadiene, benzene and NO(2) both within and in-between the street and urban background station. This study supports NO(2) as a potential indicator for 1,3-butadiene and benzene levels in streets or urban background air, while the weak relations found for the personal measurements do not support the use of NO(2) as an indicator for personal 1,3-butadiene and benzene exposure.

Adult↗

Species differences in the production and clearance of 1,3-butadiene metabolites: a mechanistic model indicates predominantly physiological, not biochemical, control.

Inhaled 1,3-butadiene, a monomer used in the production of synthetic rubber and other resins, is metabolized to mutagenic and carcinogenic epoxide intermediates. A physiologically based pharmacokinetic model of the uptake, tissue distribution, and metabolism of butadiene was constructed to determine if the biochemical kinetic constants obtained from in vitro studies are consistent with the observed in vivo uptake and metabolism. The model includes compartments for lung, blood, fat, liver, other rapidly perfused tissues ('viscera') and slowly perfused tissues. Metabolism of butadiene was assumed to occur in viscera in addition to lung and liver. Enzymatic reaction rate equations for the formation of 1,2-epoxy-3-butene, for hydrolysis of this epoxide, and for its conjugation with glutathione were also included. Physiological and biochemical parameters for the mouse, rat and human were obtained from the literature; they were not adjusted to produce a fit to experimental data. The model was used to test the hypothesis that differences in uptake and clearance of butadiene by the three species are due to differences in the activities of the metabolizing enzymes. The model reproduces whole-body observations for the mouse and rat. It predicts that inhalation uptake of butadiene and formation and retention of epoxybutene are controlled to a much greater extent by physiological parameters than by biochemical parameters and that storage in the fat represents a significant fraction of the retained butadiene. Accumulation of epoxybutene in the blood is predicted to be higher in mice than in rats or humans, but accumulation of the epoxide intermediate in the liver is predicted to be highest in humans. The epoxide tissue concentrations predicted by the model do not, by themselves, correlate with tumor incidence in mice and rats, indicating that other factors are crucial for carcinogenesis induced by butadiene.

Adsorption↗

Exposure to butadiene and lymphatic and hematopoietic cancer.

Several follow-up studies have assessed lymphatic and hematopoietic cancer (LHC) among workers with potential exposure to 1,3-butadiene. These investigations of the styrene-butadiene rubber and butadiene manufacturing industries include 17,448 subjects with an average of 22 years of follow-up. When the results of the studies are combined, the total number of observed leukemia deaths is 36, compared with 34.2 expected. The standardized mortality ratio is 1.05, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.74-1.46. These null data are compatible with, at most, a weak positive association of butadiene with leukemia. There is little evidence of an association with other forms of LHC among styrene-butadiene rubber workers (55 observed/50.1 expected deaths). Only one study has evaluated directly the relation between estimates of butadiene exposure and leukemia, and this investigation reports a positive association. The result, however, cannot be interpreted as causal, because there is no satisfactory explanation for the marked discrepancy between this case-control study and a null follow-up study based on the same subjects. Overall, the epidemiologic evidence does not provide persuasive evidence that butadiene exposure causes LHC.

Butadienes↗

The privileged access model of 1,3-butadiene disposition.

In previous attempts to model disposition of 1,3-butadiene in mice and rats, parameter values for 1,2-epoxybut-3-ene metabolism were optimized to reproduce elimination of this gas from closed chambers. However, each of these models predicted much higher concentrations of circulating epoxybutene than were subsequently measured in animals exposed to butadiene. To account for this discrepancy, a previous physiologically based pharmacokinetic model of butadiene disposition was modified to describe a transient complex between cytochrome P450 and epoxide hydrolase on the endoplasmic reticulum membrane. In this model the epoxide products are directly transferred from the P450 to the epoxide hydrolase in competition with release of products into the cytosol. The model includes flow-restricted delivery of butadiene and epoxides to gastrointestinal tract, liver, lung, kidney, fat, other rapidly perfused tissues, and other slowly perfused tissues. Blood was distributed among compartments for arterial, venous, and capillary spaces. Oxidation of butadiene and epoxybutene and hydrolysis and glutathione conjugation of epoxides were included in liver, lung, and kidney. The model reproduces observed uptake of butadiene and epoxybutene from closed chambers by mice and rats and steady-state concentrations of butadiene, epoxybutene, and 1,2;3,4-diepoxybutane concentrations in blood of mice and rats exposed by nose only. Successful replication of these observations indicates that the proposed privileged access of epoxides formed in situ to epoxide hydrolase is a plausible mechanistic representation for the metabolic clearance of epoxide-forming chemicals.

Animals↗