Human DNA adducts of 1,3-butadiene, an important environmental carcinogen

The N-1-(2,3,4-trihydroxybutyl)adenine (N-1-THB-Ade) adducts induced by 1,3-butadiene (BD) were analysed from lymphocytes of 15 workers occupationally exposed to BD and 11 controls by (32)P-post-labelling using HPLC with radioactivity detection. The difference in the adduct levels between the BD-exposed workers (4.5 +/- 7.7 adducts/10(9) nucleotides) and the controls (0.8 +/- 1.2 adducts/10(9) nucleotides) was statistically significant (Wilcoxon rank sum test, P = 0.038). This study shows for the first time BD-induced DNA adducts in humans and suggests that N-1-THB-Ade adducts may be used to biomonitor human exposure to BD.