Fetal Exposure to Arsenic Affects Genes

Fetal Exposure to Arsenic Affects Genes
FRIDAY, Nov. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Children of women exposed toarsenic-contaminated water during pregnancy have gene expression changesthat may result in cancer and other diseases later in life, aMassachusetts Institute of Technology study suggests.
The researchers, who said their work is the first documentation ofwidespread genetic changes caused by prenatal exposure to an environmentalcontaminant, analyzed umbilical cord blood from the children of 32 mothersin an area of Thailand with heavy mining-related arsenic contamination.Similar levels of arsenic are found in many other parts of the world,including the U.S. Southwest.
Children who were exposed to arsenic in the womb had about 450 genesthat were either significantly more active (in most cases) or less activethan the same genes in unexposed children.
Most of the gene expression changes detected in the exposed childrenare associated with inflammation, which can lead to increased cancer risk.It's not clear how long these gene expression changes may last, and theresearchers plan to continue testing the children.
The researchers also found that a subset of 11 of these genes could beused as a highly reliable test for determining whether a child had beenexposed to arsenic while in the womb.
The study was published in the Nov. 23 issue of the journal PLoSGenetics.
More information
The U.S. Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry has more aboutarsenic.