title: Possible effect of infection with liver fluke (Opisthorchis viverrini) on the monitoring of urine by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for human exposure to aflatoxins.
abstract: Several laboratories have initiated studies to assess human exposure to aflatoxin at an individual level by measuring aflatoxin metabolites in the urine by immunoassay. The fact that the antibodies recognize a variety of metabolites, albeit with differing affinities, means that any environmental factor that modifies the pattern of urinary metabolites associated with a given exposure could affect quantification in immunoassay. We have examined two such possible effects: (i) the pattern of metabolites after a dose of 14C-aflatoxin B1 in rats and (ii) the pattern of metabolites in hamsters and humans with and without exposure to liver flukes. We found no dose-related effect on the pattern of urinary metabolites over a 250-fold range, but there was a significant increase in the proportion of water-soluble aflatoxin metabolites in hamsters infected with liver fluke over that in uninfected animals. In human urine samples, there also appeared to be a difference in the metabolites in individuals infected with liver fluke from those in uninfected persons. These observations are relevant to both mechanistic and monitoring aspects of research into aflatoxins.
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Laboratories, Toxicology Unit, Carshalton, Surrey, UK.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Makarananda
authors.forename: C P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Wild
authors.forename: Y Z
authors.initials: YZ
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: G E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Neal
mesh_terms: D000348:Aflatoxins / Q000652:urine*; D000818:Animals; D006224:Cricetinae; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008647:Mesocricetus; D009889:Opisthorchiasis / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
chemical_list: D000348:Aflatoxins