# Core B: Biomarker and Constituent Core

> **NIH NIH P01** · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · 2021 · $639,365

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
The Biomarker and Constituent Core (Core B) will carry out analyses of tobacco constituents in the smoke of
commercial and research cigarettes, as well as in e-cigarettes, used in studies proposed by individual projects,
and will analyze a panel of biomarkers in biological samples collected from users of these products. These
analyses will enable the assessment of the public health impact of removing filter ventilation, as proposed in
this program. The Core will employ well-established robust protocols based on standardized methodologies for
the analyses of tobacco constituents and biomarkers, and will also apply some recently developed innovative
methodologies for the analysis of cigarette smoke and novel biomarkers. For product analyses, smoke of
commercial and research cigarettes will be analyzed for nicotine and a range of key toxicants and carcinogens
(tobacco-specific N-nitrosamines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and volatile organic compounds), filter
ventilation and other cigarette physical parameters will be determined, and the differences in constituent
distribution across various smoke particle sizes from ventilated and non-ventilated cigarettes will be assessed.
Spent filters from cigarettes smoked by study participants will be also analyzed to correlate mouth-level
constituent exposures with smoking topography measures, biomarker levels, and/or sensory perceptions. The
Core will also generate cigarette smoke and e-cigarette aerosol extracts for the use in the animal behavioral
studies proposed in one of the projects, and will analyze nicotine and other constituents that may contribute to
abuse liability of tobacco products, such as minor alkaloids, β-carbolines, and aldehydes. Biomarkers of
specific smoke constituents to be analyzed by Core B include urinary levels of total nicotine equivalents
(nicotine intake), 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (NNAL) and its N- and O-glucuronides
(exposure to tobacco-specific lung carcinogen NNK), the tobacco specific oral and esophageal carcinogen N′-
nitrosonornicotine (NNN) and its N-glucuronide, phenanthrene tetraol and 3-hydroxy phenanthrene (exposure
to and metabolism of the representative polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon phenanthrene), and mercapturic
acids (exposure to acrolein and crotonaldehyde), and DNA adducts N6-hydroxymethyl-deoxyadenosine and
N2-ethylidene-deoxyguanosine derived from formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, respectively. Lung and systemic
inflammatory processes will be assessed by analyzing inflammatory cell counts, cytokines, and gene
expression profiles in bronchoscopy samples, 8-oxo-dG and 8-oxo-dA in leukocyte DNA, and PGEM and 8-iso-
PGF2α in urine. In addition, untargeted metabolomics will be employed for the analysis of urine and
bronchoalveolar lavage fluids to identify novel biomarker profiles distinguishing exposures from ventilated and
non-ventilated cigarettes. Personnel in this Core have extensive experience in clinical trials and quantita...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10246924
- **Project number:** 5P01CA217806-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
- **Principal Investigator:** Irina Stepanov
- **Activity code:** P01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $639,365
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-09-20 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10246924

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10246924, Core B: Biomarker and Constituent Core (5P01CA217806-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10246924. Licensed CC0.

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