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. 2021 Jun 24;16(1):22.
doi: 10.1186/s12995-021-00312-4.

Respiratory Disease Occupational Biomonitoring Collaborative Project (ROBoCoP): A longitudinal pilot study and implementation research in the Parisian transport company

I Guseva Canu  1 , M Hemmendinger  2 , J J Sauvain  2 , G Suarez  2 , N B Hopf  2 , J A Pralong  3 , T Ben Rayana  2   4 , S Besançon  4 , K Sakthithasan  4 , V Jouannique  4 , A Debatisse  4
Affiliations

Respiratory Disease Occupational Biomonitoring Collaborative Project (ROBoCoP): A longitudinal pilot study and implementation research in the Parisian transport company

I Guseva Canu et al. J Occup Med Toxicol. .

Abstract

The ROBoCoP project is launched within the EU COST Action CA16113 "CliniMARK" aiming to increase the number of clinically validated biomarkers and focused on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) biomarker development and validation. ROBoCoP encompasses two consecutive studies consisting of a pilot study followed by a field study. The pilot study is a longitudinal exposure assessment and biomarker study aiming at: 1-understanding the suitability of the candidate biomarkers in surveying populations at risk such as workers exposed to COPD causing agents; 2-determining the best sampling plan with respect to the half-life of the candidate biomarkers; 3-implementing and validating the sampling procedures and analytical methods; 4-selecting the best suitable biomarkers to be measured in the field. Each study participant is surveyed every day during the 6-8 h work-shifts for two consecutive weeks. The field study has an implementation research designe that enabled us to demonstrate the applicability of the standardized protocol for biomarker measurements in occupational settings while also assessing the biomarkers' validity. ROBoCoP will focus on particulate matter (PM) exposure measurements, exposure biomarkers and a series of effect biomarkers, including markers of lipoperoxidation: 8-isoprostane, malondialdehyd in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) and urine, potential markers of nitrosative stress: NO2-, NO3- and formate anion in EBC; markers of DNA oxidation: 8-hydroxy-2'deoxyguanosine in EBC and urine, marker of genotoxicity: micronuclei in buccal cells, and oxidative potential in exhaled air (OPEA). OPEA appears particularly promising as a clinical biomarker for detecting COPD, and will be tested independently and as part of a biomarker panel. COPD diagnosis will be performed by an experienced occupational physician according to international diagnostic standards and confirmed by a pulmonologist.This research will include approximatively 300 underground subway workers randomly selected from the personnel registry of a large Parisian transport company. Underground subways are suggested as the most PM polluted urban transport environment. We believe this occupational exposure is relevant for biomonitoring of workers and early detection of respiratory diseases.

Keywords: Biomarker; COPD; Cancer; Indoor exposure; Inflammation; Metals; Oxidative stress; Particulate matter; Subway; Ultrafine particles.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Preparatory actions and measurements carried out every day for each participant during two-week prospective follow-up in the pilot study
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The course of the typical medical visit in the field study. Different steps are numbered in order of completion
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Associations to be considered during statistical analysis of the field study data, numbered by order of investigation. The dependent variables corresponding to the studied biological or health effects are shown in bold
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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