Influenza A / H1N1 and its relationship with arsenic exposure at common levels

Scientists at the Marine Biology Laboratory (MBL) and Dartmouth Medical School have discovered that low-level arsenic exposures are often found in specially contaminated drinking water that can lead to skyrocketing reactions. immune to influenza A / H1N1 virus.

MBL director of training and science Joshua Hamilton, along with senior scientists of the MBL center at Baypaul and a number of other scientists conducted a study at Darthmouth medical school, with the participation of a graduate of this school named Courtney Kozul. Their research results were sent to Environmental Health Perpecstives.

Halmilton said: 'When a normal person or a mouse becomes infected with the flu, an immune response occurs immediately in the body, that is, immune cells will focus on the lungs and produce chemicals. substances that are resistant to the infection. However, for mice that drank water with arsenic contamination of 100 ppb within 5 weeks, the initial immunity of H1N1 was very poor, but after a few days of stimulation the immune response was' too strong and too late '. Large infiltration of immune cells into the lungs and hypersensitivity reactions cause bleeding and damage to the lungs. The effect of this process on animals infected with arsenic is much higher than for normal animals.

Inhalation of influenza A virus is a medical problem that is of concern to the whole world, which causes 36,000 deaths annually. The recent outbreak of A / H1N1 flu, also known as recent swine flu, has claimed the lives of 72 people in Mexico and 6 people in the US. This type of influenza A virus is the virus that Hamilton and his colleagues use in their arsenic research.

'When I heard about the recent outbreak of H1N1 swine flu, what really caught our attention was that Mexico has so many areas where well water there is highly contaminated with arsenic, including the areas that are The first release of this flu. We do not know if the flu-infected Mexican people drink high levels of arsenic-contaminated water, but we think the issue is somewhat relevant , 'Halmilton said.

The penetrating electron microscopy image is negatively stained by the staining of the swine influenza A / CA / 4/09 virus.(Photo: CDC / CS Goldsmith and A. Balish)

He also added: according to the US Environmental Protection Department, drinking water with 10ppb of arsenic is considered safe , but for geographic areas with too much arsenic that includes upstream New England (Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine), Florida, and much of the upper Midwest and the Southwest region along with the Rockey Mountains are often found to be 100ppb of domestic arsenic contamination.

Arsenic does not accumulate in the body throughout life like other toxic metals such as lead, cadmium and mercury. According to Halmilton, 'Arsenic enters our body like salt powder. We believe that arsenic affects human health, but it must take effect day by day, year after year, for example, for example, by drinking human water. '

Halmilton's laboratory has discovered that arsenic not only destroys the innate immune system as recently published studies, but also affects it, often to the endocrine system (hormones). This discovery was first reported in 1988.

Most chemicals break down a certain hormonal gland such as the estrogen hormone gland, but arsenic breaks down all five natural hormonal receptors (estrogen, testorone, progestorone, glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids) along with several hormonal glands. other. You can imagine that only one effect can affect all hormonal-related diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, reproductive and developmental disorders. of body.

Halmilton argues that arsenic destroys the immune system and endocrine system through various mechanisms. 'The mechanism of arsenic activity inside cells may be the same but the purpose of these activities is different'. The protein mediates different hormonal reactions and in immune reactions. ' We do not know how arsenic destroys systems in each case. But just knowing how it destroys a system, we can also deduce the other case. '

Recently, Hamilton's laboratory is focusing on the unusual 'Double-sided' arsenic effect on the endocrine system. At very low doses, arsenic stimulates the hormonal reactions but only slightly increases arsenic doses (still within the range of arsenic found in drinking water), it can immediately cancel that reaction.

'A significant change from stimulation to destruction of hormones with just a little change of arsenic dose is a strange question that we have not yet found a solution. Our goal is to explain this transformation and thereby understand how arsenic affects our bodies. '

This study was financially supported by the Dartmouth Toxic Metal Research Program funded by NIH-NIEHS.