Correlation between skin lesion and DNA oxidative damage in women exposed to low concentration arsenic

Objective To explore the correlation between skin lesion and DNA oxidative damage in the women exposed to low concentration arsenic.Methods Fifty-four female cases exposed to arsenic in drinking water and 18 females controls were investigated.The urine samples were collected from the females and measured for urinary total arsenic and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine(8-OHdG).Results The average total urinary arsenic was 22.90±6.41 μg/gCr and the average contert of 8-OHdG was 11.78±2.95 μg/gCr for the chronic arsenic exposure,both of them were significantly higher than those of the control.Significant positive correlations were found between urinary 8-OHdG and total arsenic(r=0.893,P<0.05)as well as urinary 8-OHdG and the grade of skin lesion(r=0.847,P<0.05).The level of urinary 8-OHdG was associated with an increased risk of skin lesion in arsenic exposed cases(odds ratio=2.838,P<0.05).Conclusion A clear dose-response relationship was observed between low arsenic exposure and skin lesion.The results suggest low arsenic exposure could lead to oxidative DNA damage and 8-OHdG can be used as a stable biomarker for arsenic-induced oxidative damage.