Individual variations in arsenic metabolism in Vietnamese: the association with arsenic exposure and GSTP1 genetic polymorphism

We investigated the association of As exposure and genetic polymorphism in glutathione S-transferase pi 1 (GSTP1) with As metabolism in 190 local residents from the As contaminated groundwater areas in the Red River Delta, Vietnam. Total As concentrations in groundwater ranged from <0.1 to 502 mu g l(-1). Concentrations of dimethylarsinic acid (DMA(V)), monomethylarsonic acid (MMA(V)), and arsenite (As-III) in human urine were positively correlated with total As levels in the groundwater, suggesting that people in these areas may be exposed to As through the groundwater. The concentration ratios of urinary As-III /arsenate (As-V) and MMA(V) /inorganic As (IA; As-III + As-V)(M/I), which are indicators of As metabolism, increased with the urinary As level. Concentration and proportion of As-III were high in the wild type of GSTP1 Ile105Val compared with the hetero type, and these trends were more pronounced in the higher As exposure group (>56 mu g l(-1) creatinine in urine), but not in the lower exposure group. In the high As exposure group, As-III/As-V ratios in the urine of wild type of GSTP1 Ile105Val were significantly higher than those of the hetero type, while the opposite trend was observed for M/I. These results suggest that the excretion and metabolism of IA may depend on both the As exposure level and the GSTP1 Ile105Val genotype.