Association between arsenic exposure and soluble thrombomodulin: A cross sectional study in Bangladesh

PLoS One. 2017 Apr 11;12(4):e0175154. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0175154. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

Chronic exposure to arsenic is associated with increased morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease (CVD); however, plausible biomarker for early prediction and the underlying mechanism of arsenic-related CVD have not yet been clearly understood. Endothelial dysfunction plays a central role in the development of CVD. We hypothesized that endothelial damage or dysfunction is an important aspect and may be an early event of arsenic-related CVD. Soluble thrombomodulin (sTM) in serum is thought to be a specific and stable marker for endothelial damage or dysfunction. This study was designed to evaluate the association between chronic exposure to arsenic and sTM among human subjects in arsenic-endemic and non-endemic rural areas in Bangladesh. A total of 321 study subjects (217 from arsenic-endemic areas and 104 from a non-endemic area) were recruited. Subjects' arsenic exposure levels (i.e., drinking water, hair and nail arsenic concentrations) were measured by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy. The subjects' serum sTM levels were quantified by immunoassay kit. The average sTM levels of the subjects in arsenic-endemic and non-endemic areas were 4.58 ± 2.20 and 2.84 ± 1.29 (ng mL-1) respectively, and the difference was significant (p<0.001). Arsenic exposure levels showed a significant (water arsenic: rs = 0.339, p<0.001, hair arsenic: rs = 0.352, p<0.001 and nail arsenic: rs = 0.308, p<0.001) positive associations with sTM levels. Soluble TM levels were higher in the higher exposure gradients if we stratified the subjects into tertile groups (low, medium and high) based on the arsenic concentrations of the subjects' drinking water, hair and nails. Finally, increased levels of sTM were negatively correlated with high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and positively correlated with intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1). Results of this study show that chronic exposure to arsenic has mild to moderate association with sTM levels.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Arsenic / toxicity*
  • Bangladesh
  • Biomarkers / blood*
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Environmental Exposure*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Solubility
  • Thrombomodulin / blood*
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Biomarkers
  • Thrombomodulin
  • Arsenic

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the R & D project, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh (Grant No. 39.012.002.02.01.016.2013-463), TWAS (Grant No. 12-103 RG/BIO/AS_I-UNESCO FR: 3240271353), Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh [Grant No. 39.009.006.01.00.042.2012-2013/ES-21/558], and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Kakenhi, Japan (Grant No.24406009). The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.