Isoprostanes in wastewater of two Italian cities as a community-level metabolism linked to SARS-CoV-2 RNA and COVID-19 cases
Abstract Wastewater-based Epidemiology (WBE) was initially employed as a valuable tool for monitoring pathogens. Nowadays, WBE has expanded its original focus to the quantification of several “community-level metabolism” indicators to complement Public Health monitoring campaigns. Recently, wastewat...
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2025-07-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-23774-1 |
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| author | Giulia Squillacioti Samar El Sherbiny Alex Affricano Lisa Richiardi Claudio Cassardo Giulia Baldelli Claudio Medana Giorgio Brandi Roberto Bono |
| author_facet | Giulia Squillacioti Samar El Sherbiny Alex Affricano Lisa Richiardi Claudio Cassardo Giulia Baldelli Claudio Medana Giorgio Brandi Roberto Bono |
| author_sort | Giulia Squillacioti |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Wastewater-based Epidemiology (WBE) was initially employed as a valuable tool for monitoring pathogens. Nowadays, WBE has expanded its original focus to the quantification of several “community-level metabolism” indicators to complement Public Health monitoring campaigns. Recently, wastewater isoprostanes have been suggested as biological indicators of oxidative stress and community anxiety levels during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, previous studies were lacking of concomitant quantifications linking isoprostanes in sewage with COVID-19 pandemic indicators. This study provides an application case to expand the application of a WBE approach for the investigation of community-wide oxidative stress levels and COVID-19 disease. We quantified the occurrence of three oxidative stress biomarkers in wastewater samples collected from two Italian cities (study sites A and B) from January to December 2022. Among the selected oxidative stress biomarkers, only 8-isoprostaglandin F2α (8-iso-PGF2α) and 5-iso Prostaglandin F2α-VI (5-iPF2α-VI) were detectable, while prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) was undetectable during the entire study period in both sites. The annual trend of 8-iso-PGF2α mass load and SARS-CoV-2 concentration in sewage was significantly and moderately cross-correlated, as a at study site A (Spearman’s rho = 0.62) and study site B (Spearman’s rho = 0.68). The same findings were confirmed for the cross-correlations including 8-iso-PGF2α concentrations instead of per capita mass load. A moderate and significant cross-correlation with the annual trend of monthly average daily COVID-19 cases (Spearman’s rho = 0.67) was observed for one study site and with a time lag = 1. Our findings support the hypothesis that human biomonitoring, via the quantification of oxidative stress biomarkers in sewage, can be effectively used to investigate the emerging field of the community-level metabolism. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1df2da6749cf452e946b4edf337cf2bc |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1471-2458 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
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| series | BMC Public Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-1df2da6749cf452e946b4edf337cf2bc2025-08-20T03:46:12ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582025-07-0125111110.1186/s12889-025-23774-1Isoprostanes in wastewater of two Italian cities as a community-level metabolism linked to SARS-CoV-2 RNA and COVID-19 casesGiulia Squillacioti0Samar El Sherbiny1Alex Affricano2Lisa Richiardi3Claudio Cassardo4Giulia Baldelli5Claudio Medana6Giorgio Brandi7Roberto Bono8Department of Public Health and Pediatrics, University of TurinDepartment of Public Health and Pediatrics, University of TurinDepartment of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, University of TurinDipartimento territoriale Piemonte Nord Ovest, Monitoraggio corpi idrici, ARPA PiemonteDepartment of Physics, University of TurinBiomolecular Sciences Department Pharmacology and Public Health Unit, University of Urbino Carlo BoDepartment of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, University of TurinBiomolecular Sciences Department Pharmacology and Public Health Unit, University of Urbino Carlo BoDepartment of Public Health and Pediatrics, University of TurinAbstract Wastewater-based Epidemiology (WBE) was initially employed as a valuable tool for monitoring pathogens. Nowadays, WBE has expanded its original focus to the quantification of several “community-level metabolism” indicators to complement Public Health monitoring campaigns. Recently, wastewater isoprostanes have been suggested as biological indicators of oxidative stress and community anxiety levels during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, previous studies were lacking of concomitant quantifications linking isoprostanes in sewage with COVID-19 pandemic indicators. This study provides an application case to expand the application of a WBE approach for the investigation of community-wide oxidative stress levels and COVID-19 disease. We quantified the occurrence of three oxidative stress biomarkers in wastewater samples collected from two Italian cities (study sites A and B) from January to December 2022. Among the selected oxidative stress biomarkers, only 8-isoprostaglandin F2α (8-iso-PGF2α) and 5-iso Prostaglandin F2α-VI (5-iPF2α-VI) were detectable, while prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) was undetectable during the entire study period in both sites. The annual trend of 8-iso-PGF2α mass load and SARS-CoV-2 concentration in sewage was significantly and moderately cross-correlated, as a at study site A (Spearman’s rho = 0.62) and study site B (Spearman’s rho = 0.68). The same findings were confirmed for the cross-correlations including 8-iso-PGF2α concentrations instead of per capita mass load. A moderate and significant cross-correlation with the annual trend of monthly average daily COVID-19 cases (Spearman’s rho = 0.67) was observed for one study site and with a time lag = 1. Our findings support the hypothesis that human biomonitoring, via the quantification of oxidative stress biomarkers in sewage, can be effectively used to investigate the emerging field of the community-level metabolism.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-23774-1IsoprostanesOxidative stressBiomarkersWastewater-based epidemiologyCOVID-19SARS-CoV-2 |
| spellingShingle | Giulia Squillacioti Samar El Sherbiny Alex Affricano Lisa Richiardi Claudio Cassardo Giulia Baldelli Claudio Medana Giorgio Brandi Roberto Bono Isoprostanes in wastewater of two Italian cities as a community-level metabolism linked to SARS-CoV-2 RNA and COVID-19 cases BMC Public Health Isoprostanes Oxidative stress Biomarkers Wastewater-based epidemiology COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 |
| title | Isoprostanes in wastewater of two Italian cities as a community-level metabolism linked to SARS-CoV-2 RNA and COVID-19 cases |
| title_full | Isoprostanes in wastewater of two Italian cities as a community-level metabolism linked to SARS-CoV-2 RNA and COVID-19 cases |
| title_fullStr | Isoprostanes in wastewater of two Italian cities as a community-level metabolism linked to SARS-CoV-2 RNA and COVID-19 cases |
| title_full_unstemmed | Isoprostanes in wastewater of two Italian cities as a community-level metabolism linked to SARS-CoV-2 RNA and COVID-19 cases |
| title_short | Isoprostanes in wastewater of two Italian cities as a community-level metabolism linked to SARS-CoV-2 RNA and COVID-19 cases |
| title_sort | isoprostanes in wastewater of two italian cities as a community level metabolism linked to sars cov 2 rna and covid 19 cases |
| topic | Isoprostanes Oxidative stress Biomarkers Wastewater-based epidemiology COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-23774-1 |
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