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Chronic arsenic exposure and urinary 8-Hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine in an arsenic-affected area in Inner Mongolia, China

Abstract

Objective:

Recent studies have shown that generation of reactive oxidants during arsenic metabolism can play an important role in arsenic-induced injury. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between arsenic in drinking water and oxidative stress in humans by measuring 8-Hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG).

Methods:

We performed a cross-sectional study in an arsenic-affected village in Hetao Plain, Inner Mongolia, China. A total of 134 of the 143 inhabitants (93.7%) of the village participated in the study. The levels of 8-OHdG, arsenic and its metabolites were measured in urine collected from the participants. Regression analyses were performed to investigate the relationship between arsenic species and 8-OHdG levels in urine.

Results:

In the polluted village, monomethylarsenic was significantly higher in subjects with arsenic dermatosis than those without dermatosis despite no difference in mean levels of arsenic in well water between both types of subject. For subjects with arsenic dermatosis, arsenic species and metabolites in urine are significantly associated with 8-OHdG, while there was no statistically significant relationship for subjects without arsenic dermatosis. For all residents of the polluted village, the levels of dimethylarsenic and 8-OHdG were significantly higher for those who had been exposed to well water for more than 12 years.

Conclusions:

These results provide evidence of a link between exposure to arsenic from drinking water and oxidative stress, which may play an important role in arsenic-involved injuries.

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Abbreviations

DMA:

dimethylarsenic

HPLC-ECD:

a high-pressure liquid chromatography coupled to an electrochemical detector

iAs:

inorganic arsenics

iAs(III):

trivalent arsenite

iAs(V):

pentavalent inorganic arsenate

MMA:

monomethylarsenic

8-OHdG:

8-Hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine

ROS:

reactive oxygen species

TMA:

trimethylarsenic

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Acknowledgements

This research has been partly supported by the Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology (CREST) program of Japan Science and Technology Corporation (JST) and Kanae Foundation for Life and Socio-Medical Science.

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Correspondence to Yoshihisa Fujino.

Additional information

See Acknowledgments for the investigators (name and affiliation) involved in the JIMAP Study.

Japan Inner Mongolia Arsenic Pollution (JIMAP) Study Group

The present investigators involved in the JIMAP study and their affiliations are as follows: Takesumi Yoshimura, Yoshihisa Fujino, Hiroshi Kasai, Kiyoyumi Shirane, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan; Tetsuya Kusuda, Kyushu University, and Kimiko Tanabe, Munetoshi Miyatake, Miyazaki University. Liu Jun, Xia Yajuan, Wu Kegong, Li Yanhong, and Guo Xiaojuan, Yi Liqi, Qin Yuexian, You Lingui, Center for Endemic Disease Control and Research of Inner Mongolia, China, and Zhao Dongyue, Liu Jianguang, Qiao Jiandong, Anti-epidemic station of Wuyuan County, Inner Mongolia.

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Fujino, Y., Guo, X., Liu, J. et al. Chronic arsenic exposure and urinary 8-Hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine in an arsenic-affected area in Inner Mongolia, China. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 15, 147–152 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jea.7500381

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