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.
Center for Endemic Disease Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Harbin Medical University, Key Lab of Etiology and Epidemiology, Education Bureau of Hei Long Jiang Province & Ministry of Health (23618104), Harbin 150081, China.
Songbo
S
Fu
Laboratory of Medical Genetics, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150081, China.
Jie
J
Wu
Center for Endemic Disease Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Harbin Medical University, Key Lab of Etiology and Epidemiology, Education Bureau of Hei Long Jiang Province & Ministry of Health (23618104), Harbin 150081, China.
Yuanyuan
Y
Li
Department of Health Statistics, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150081, China.
Yan
Y
Liu
Center for Endemic Disease Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Harbin Medical University, Key Lab of Etiology and Epidemiology, Education Bureau of Hei Long Jiang Province & Ministry of Health (23618104), Harbin 150081, China.
Yanhui
Y
Gao
Center for Endemic Disease Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Harbin Medical University, Key Lab of Etiology and Epidemiology, Education Bureau of Hei Long Jiang Province & Ministry of Health (23618104), Harbin 150081, China.
Feifei
F
Yao
Dongcheng District Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100009, China.
Chuanying
C
Qiu
Center for Endemic Disease Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Harbin Medical University, Key Lab of Etiology and Epidemiology, Education Bureau of Hei Long Jiang Province & Ministry of Health (23618104), Harbin 150081, China.
Li
L
Song
Center for Endemic Disease Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Harbin Medical University, Key Lab of Etiology and Epidemiology, Education Bureau of Hei Long Jiang Province & Ministry of Health (23618104), Harbin 150081, China.
Yu
Y
Wu
Gansu Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 730020, China.
Yongjian
Y
Liao
Center for Endemic Disease Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Harbin Medical University, Key Lab of Etiology and Epidemiology, Education Bureau of Hei Long Jiang Province & Ministry of Health (23618104), Harbin 150081, China. Electronic address: hrbmusdj@163.com.
Dianjun
D
Sun
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001151:Arsenic / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000652:urine*; D044466:Asian People / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000235:genetics*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008780:Methyltransferases / Q000235:genetics*; D008875:Middle Aged; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000652:urine*; D014881:Water Supply / Q000032:analysis; D055815:Young Adult
D060766:Drinking Water; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D008780:Methyltransferases; C505756:AS3MT protein, human; D001151:Arsenic
AS3MT; Arsenic; GSTO1; GSTO2; Genetic polymorphism; Methylation metabolism