Urinary 1-Hydroxypyrene is Associated with Oxidative Stress and Inflammatory Biomarkers in Acute Myocardial Infarction

Several studies have associated exposure to environmental pollutants, especially polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), with the development of cardiovascular diseases. Considering that 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) is the major biomarker of exposure to pyrenes, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential association between 1-OHP and oxidative stress/inflammatory biomarkers in patients who had suffered an acute myocardial infarction (AMI). After adopting the exclusion criteria, 58 post-infarction patients and 41 controls were sub-divided into smokers and non-smokers. Urinary 1-OHP, hematological and biochemical parameters, oxidative stress biomarkers (MDA, SOD, CAT, GPx and exogenous antioxidants) and the inflammatory biomarker (hs-CRP) were analyzed. 1-OHP levels were increased in post-infarct patients compared to controls (p < 0.05) and were correlated to MDA (r = 0.426, p < 0.01), CAT (r = 0.474, p < 0.001) and β-carotene (r = −0.309; p < 0.05) in non-smokers. Furthermore, post-infarction patients had elevated hs-CRP, MDA, CAT and GPx levels compared to controls for both smokers and non-smokers. Besides, β-carotene levels and SOD activity were decreased in post-infarction patients. In summary, our findings indicate that the exposure to pyrenes was associated to lipid damage and alterations of endogenous and exogenous antioxidants, demonstrating that PAHs contribute to oxidative stress and are associated to acute myocardial infarction.