Deliverable Report D14.2. List of effect biomarkers for the first set of prioritized substances (original) (raw)

2018, Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)

Background: The ultimate objective of HBM is to link biomarkers of exposure to biomarkers of effect and susceptibility to understand the public-health implications. Biomarkers of effect are defined as measurable biochemical, physiologic, behavioral, or other alteration in an organism that, depending on the magnitude, can be recognized as associated with an established or possible health impairment or disease. Objective: Deliverable 14.2 aimed to carry out a wide literature survey in order to create an inventory of available biomarkers of effects for the first set of prioritized chemical families: Bisphenols, Phthalates, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), Perfluorinated compounds (PFAS, PFOAs), Organophosphate (OPFR) and Brominated (BFR) Flame retardants, and Cadmium (Cd). Methods: Different research teams participating in WP14 covered each of the prioritized chemical family based on their previous expertise. Comprehensive literature searches with defined search terms for both the exposure of interest and the selected health endpoints were conducted in the PubMed/MEDLINE database. Given the enormous amount of information collected, effect biomarkers used in epidemiological settings were prioritized following the criteria previously established in D14.1. Results: An inventory of effect biomarkers for the first set of prioritized substances has been created based on the information gathered from the literature searches. They have been classified in four levels of biological complexity (biochemical/physiological, in vitro/ex vivo, omics, and anthropometrics biomarkers) and in two groups according to their use (long-established "traditional biomarkers" versus less studied "novel biomarkers"). As an example, commonly used biochemical parameters such as steroid hormones and serum lipids would fit the category of "traditional" biomarkers, while other biomarkers such as epigenetic marks or understudied biomarkers such as the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) would fit the category of "novel biomarkers". Conclusions: Although not all the biomarkers found show good applicability to the easily accessible bio-speciments normally collected in HBM studies, a preliminary proposal of effect biomarkers that could be of interest has been included in this deliverable. However, it should be noted that it only provides an initial orientation. A thorough process is needed to go from this initial list or inventory of effect biomarkers, to the final selection of the effect biomarkers that will be implemented in the HBM4EU aligned studies. D14.3, "Report on available biomarkers of effect of utility in human epidemiological studies for the first set of prioritized substances", will continue the selection process, narrowing down the number of possible effect biomarkers and also taking into account the critical period of development in which exposure is assessed in the HBM4EU aligned studies (children, adolescents and/or adults), among other variables.