Urinary arsenic metabolism in a Western Chinese population exposed to high-dose inorganic arsenic in drinking water: influence of ethnicity and genetic polymorphisms.
To investigate the differences in urinary arsenic metabolism patterns of individuals exposed to a high concentration of inorganic arsenic (iAs) in drinking water, an epidemiological investigation was conducted with 155 individuals living in a village where the arsenic concentration in the drinking water was 969μg/L. Blood and urine samples were collected from 66 individuals including 51 cases with skin lesions and 15 controls without skin lesions. The results showed that monomethylated arsenic (MMA), the percentage of MMA (%MMA) and the ratio of MMA to iAs (MMA/iAs) were significantly increased in patients with skin lesions as compared to controls, while dimethylated arsenic (DMA), the percentage of DMA (%DMA) and the ratio of DMA to MMA (DMA/MMA) were significantly reduced. The percent DMA of individuals with the Ala/Asp genotype of glutathione S-transferase omega 1 (GSTO1) was significantly lower than those with Ala/Ala. The percent MMA of individuals with the A2B/A2B genotype of arsenic (+3 oxidation state) methyltransferase (AS3MT) was significantly lower than those with AB/A2B. The iAs and total arsenic (tAs) content in the urine of a Tibetan population were significantly higher than that of Han and Hui ethnicities, whereas MMA/iAs was significantly lower than that of Han and Hui ethnicities. Our results showed that when exposed to the same arsenic environment, different individuals exhibited different urinary arsenic metabolism patterns. Gender and ethnicity affect these differences and above polymorphisms may be effectors too.
['Fu|Songbo|S|', 'Wu|Jie|J|', 'Li|Yuanyuan|Y|', 'Liu|Yan|Y|', 'Gao|Yanhui|Y|', 'Yao|Feifei|F|', 'Qiu|Chuanying|C|', 'Song|Li|L|', 'Wu|Yu|Y|', 'Liao|Yongjian|Y|', 'Sun|Dianjun|D|']
D000293:Adolescent D000328:Adult D000368:Aged D001151:Arsenic D044466:Asians D002648:Child D002675:Child, Preschool D060766:Drinking Water D004781:Environmental Exposure D005260:Female D006801:Humans D007223:Infant D007231:Infant, Newborn D008297:Male D008780:Methyltransferases D008875:Middle Aged D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide D011159:Population Surveillance D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical D014881:Water Supply D055815:Young Adult
Arsenic Genetic polymorphism GSTO1 AS3MT GSTO2 Methylation metabolism