title: Plasma metallothionein antibody and cadmium-induced renal dysfunction in an occupational population in China.
abstract: It has been reported that anti-metallothionein (a metallothionein antibody) is present in the circulation of healthy subjects and in patients suffering from atopic dermatitis. The aim of this study was to investigate whether cadmium-induced renal dysfunction is related to the presence of the plasma metallothionein antibody (MT-Ab) in workers exposed to cadmium (Cd) occupationally. Plasma metallothionein antibody was determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) techniques, and both exposure assessment and risk assessment were conducted in cadmium-exposed workers in China. We demonstrate that there is a significantly increased prevalence of renal dysfunction with respect to the level of urinary cadmium in a dose-dependent manner. We found no significant correlations between the levels of MT-Ab and the external or internal exposure doses of cadmium (p > 0.05), but the levels of MT-Ab did correlate positively with two biomarkers of renal dysfunction-urinary beta2-microglobulin (UB2M; r = 0.218, p < 0.05) and N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (UNAG; r = 0.302, p < 0.001)-in the cadmium-exposed workers. Workers who have high levels of MT-Ab display cadmium-induced tubular nephrotoxicity more frequently than those possessing low levels of MT-Ab; odds ratio (OR) 4.2; 95% confidence intervals 1.2-14.5 (p < 0.05). This study suggests that subjects that have higher MT-Ab levels more readily develop cadmium-induced renal dysfunction. Thus, the levels of plasma MT-Ab can be used as a biomarker of susceptibility to renal dysfunction in occupational cadmium exposure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Taiyi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Xiuli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Lijian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.forename: Gunnar F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Nordberg
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nordberg
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood*; D002104:Cadmium / Q000633:toxicity*; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology / Q000503:physiopathology; D007677:Kidney Function Tests; D008668:Metallothionein / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D002104:Cadmium; D008668:Metallothionein