Role of Metabolic Genes in Blood Arsenic Concentrations of Jamaican Children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder

Mohammad H. Rahbar, Maureen Samms-Vaughan, Jianzhong Ma, Jan Bressler, Katherine A. Loveland, Manouchehr Ardjomand-Hessabi, Aisha S. Dickerson, Megan L. Grove, Sydonnie Shakespeare-Pellington, Compton Beecher, Wayne McLaughlin and Eric Boerwinkle
Additional contact information
Mohammad H. Rahbar: Division of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Sciences (EHGES), University of Texas School of Public Health at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA
Maureen Samms-Vaughan: Department of Child & Adolescent Health, The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus, Kingston 7, Jamaica
Jianzhong Ma: Division of Clinical and Translational Sciences, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA
Jan Bressler: Human Genetics Center, University of Texas School of Public Health at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA
Katherine A. Loveland: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Houston, TX 77054, USA
Manouchehr Ardjomand-Hessabi: Biostatistics/Epidemiology/Research Design (BERD) Component, Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences (CCTS), University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
Aisha S. Dickerson: Biostatistics/Epidemiology/Research Design (BERD) Component, Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences (CCTS), University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
Megan L. Grove: Human Genetics Center, University of Texas School of Public Health at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA
Sydonnie Shakespeare-Pellington: Department of Child & Adolescent Health, The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus, Kingston 7, Jamaica
Compton Beecher: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Kingston 7, Jamaica
Wayne McLaughlin: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Kingston 7, Jamaica
Eric Boerwinkle: Division of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Sciences (EHGES), University of Texas School of Public Health at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA

IJERPH, 2014, vol. 11, issue 8, 1-22

Abstract: Arsenic is a toxic metalloid with known adverse effects on human health. Glutathione-S-transferase (GST) genes, including GSTT1 , GSTP1 , and GSTM1 , play a major role in detoxification and metabolism of xenobiotics. We investigated the association between GST genotypes and whole blood arsenic concentrations (BASC) in Jamaican children with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We used data from 100 ASD cases and their 1:1 age- and sex-matched typically developing (TD) controls (age 2–8 years) from Jamaica. Using log-transformed BASC as the dependent variable in a General Linear Model, we observed a significant interaction between GSTP1 and ASD case status while controlling for several confounding variables. However, for GSTT1 and GSTM1 we did not observe any significant associations with BASC. Our findings indicate that TD children who had the Ile/Ile or Ile/Val genotype for GSTP1 had a significantly higher geometric mean BASC than those with genotype Val/Val (3.67 µg/L vs. 2.69 µg/L, p < 0.01). Although, among the ASD cases, this difference was not statistically significant, the direction of the observed difference was consistent with that of the TD control children. These findings suggest a possible role of GSTP1 in the detoxification of arsenic.

Keywords: arsenic; autism spectrum disorder (ASD); glutathione S-transferase ( GST ) genes; detoxification; interactions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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