title: Chronic arsenic exposure increases TGFalpha concentration in bladder urothelial cells of Mexican populations environmentally exposed to inorganic arsenic.
abstract: Inorganic arsenic (iAs) is a well-established carcinogen and human exposure has been associated with a variety of cancers including those of skin, lung, and bladder. High expression of transforming growth factor alpha (TGF-alpha) has associated with local relapses in early stages of urinary bladder cancer. iAs exposures are at least in part determined by the rate of formation and composition of iAs metabolites (MAs(III), MAs(V), DMAs(III), DMAs(V)). This study examines the relationship between TGF-alpha concentration in exfoliated bladder urothelial cells (BUC) separated from urine and urinary arsenic species in 72 resident women (18-51 years old) from areas exposed to different concentrations of iAs in drinking water (2-378 ppb) in central Mexico. Urinary arsenic species, including trivalent methylated metabolites were measured by hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry method. The concentration of TGF-alpha in BUC was measured using an ELISA assay. Results show a statistically significant positive correlation between TGF-alpha concentration in BUC and each of the six arsenic species present in urine. The multivariate linear regression analyses show that the increment of TGF-alpha levels in BUC was importantly associated with the presence of arsenic species after adjusting by age, and presence of urinary infection. People from areas with high arsenic exposure had a significantly higher TGF-alpha concentration in BUC than people from areas of low arsenic exposure (128.8 vs. 64.4 pg/mg protein; p<0.05). Notably, exfoliated cells isolated from individuals with skin lesions contained significantly greater amount of TGF-alpha than cells from individuals without skin lesions: 157.7 vs. 64.9 pg/mg protein (p=0.003). These results suggest that TGF-alpha in exfoliated BUC may serve as a susceptibility marker of adverse health effects on epithelial tissue in arsenic-endemic areas.
authors.affiliation: Sección de Toxicología, Cinvestav-IPN, Av. Instituto Politécnico Nacional #2508, Col. Zacatenco, CP 07300, México DF, México.
authors.forename: Olga L
authors.initials: OL
authors.lastname: Valenzuela
authors.forename: Dori R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Germolec
authors.forename: Víctor H
authors.initials: VH
authors.lastname: Borja-Aburto
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Contreras-Ruiz
authors.forename: Gonzalo G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: García-Vargas
authors.forename: Luz M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Del Razo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001151:Arsenic / Q000633:toxicity* / Q000652:urine; D001152:Arsenicals / Q000652:urine; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007202:Indicators and Reagents; D008745:Methylation; D008800:Mexico; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology; D016211:Transforming Growth Factor alpha / Q000378:metabolism*; D001743:Urinary Bladder / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D019459:Urothelium / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D014881:Water Supply / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D001152:Arsenicals; D015415:Biomarkers; D007202:Indicators and Reagents; D016211:Transforming Growth Factor alpha; D001151:Arsenic