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ARSENIC - SUSCEPTIBILITY & IN UTERO EFFECTS
Citation:
THOMAS, D. J. ARSENIC - SUSCEPTIBILITY & IN UTERO EFFECTS. Presented at Federal-State Toxicology and Risk Analysis Committee Meeting, Durham, NC, October 17 - 19, 2007.
Impact/Purpose:
In this presentation, the role of genetics and life stage will be considered as susceptibility factors that determine response to exposure to inorganic arsenic.
Description:
Exposure to inorganic arsenic remains a serious public health problem at many locations worldwide. If has often been noted that prevalences of signs and symptoms of chronic arsenic poisoning differ among various populations. For example, skin lesions or peripheral vascular disease are not uniformly observed in all exposed populations. Among members of a single population exposed to inorganic arsenic, some individuals manifest signs and symptoms of toxicity while other individuals with similar levels of exposure remain disease free. This intra- and inter-population variability in response may be explained in part by differences in susceptibility to the adverse effects of arsenic. The determinants of susceptibility are often divided into intrinsic factors such as genetics or life stage and extrinsic factors such as pre-existing disease or nutritional status. In this presentation, the role of genetics and life stage will be considered as susceptibility factors that determine response to exposure to inorganic arsenic. Recent results confirm that genetic polymorphisms in arsenic (+ 3 oxidation state) methyltransferase, the enzyme that catalyzes the methylation of arsenic, affect the pattern of arsenic metabolites present in urine. Other evidence suggests that exposure to inorganic arsenic in early life may predispose individuals to occurrence of cardiovascular disease and cancer and may adversely affect neurodevelopment. Additional research is needed to evaluate the role of these susceptibility factors as potentiators of the effects of chronic exposure to inorganic arsenic. Incorporating this information into risk assessments may better protect the public health. (This abstract does not reflect US EPA policy.)