A unique metabolism of inorganic arsenic in native Andean women

The metabolism of inorganic arsenic (As) in native women in four Andean villages in north-western Argentina with elevated levels of As in the drinking water (2.5, 14, 31, and 200 μg/l, respectively) has been investigated. Collected foods contained 9–427 μg As/kg wet weight, with the highest concentrations in soup. Total As concentrations in blood were markedly elevated (median 7.6 μg/l) only in the village with the highest concentration in the drinking water. Group median concentrations of metabolites of inorganic As (inorganic As, methylarsonic acid (MMA) and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) in the urine varied between 14 and 256 μg/l. Urinary concentrations of total As were only slightly higher (18–258 μg/l), indicating that inorganic As was the main form of As ingested. In contrast to all other populations studied so far, arsenic was excreted in the urine mainly as inorganic As and DMA. There was very little MMA in the urine (overall median 2.2%, range 0.0–11%), which should be compared to 10–20% of the urinary arsenic in all other populations studied. This may indicate the existence of genetic polymorphism in the control of the methyltransferase activity involved in the methylation of As. Furthermore, the percentage of DMA in the urine was significantly higher in the village with 200 μg As/l in the water, indicating an induction of the formation of DMA. Such an effect has not been observed in other studies on human subjects with elevated exposure to arsenic.