Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Aug 13;26(1):80.
doi: 10.1186/s12199-021-00998-2.

Paradoxical effects of arsenic in the lungs

Caixia Ren #  1 , Yang Zhou #  2 , Wenwen Liu  2 , Qi Wang  3
Affiliations
Review

Paradoxical effects of arsenic in the lungs

Caixia Ren et al. Environ Health Prev Med. .

Abstract

High levels (> 100 ug/L) of arsenic are known to cause lung cancer; however, whether low (≤ 10 ug/L) and medium (10 to 100 ug/L) doses of arsenic will cause lung cancer or other lung diseases, and whether arsenic has dose-dependent or threshold effects, remains unknown. Summarizing the results of previous studies, we infer that low- and medium-concentration arsenic cause lung diseases in a dose-dependent manner. Arsenic trioxide (ATO) is recognized as a chemotherapeutic drug for acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), also having a significant effect on lung cancer. The anti-lung cancer mechanisms of ATO include inhibition of proliferation, promotion of apoptosis, anti-angiogenesis, and inhibition of tumor metastasis. In this review, we summarized the role of arsenic in lung disease from both pathogenic and therapeutic perspectives. Understanding the paradoxical effects of arsenic in the lungs may provide some ideas for further research on the occurrence and treatment of lung diseases.

Keywords: Arsenic; Lung; Pathogenic effect; Therapeutic effect.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Arsenic metabolism pathway in the human body. 1. iAs (III) is methylated by arsenic-3-methyltransferase (AS3MT), using s-adenosylmethionine (SAM) as a methyl donor to form monomethylarsonic acid (MMAsV). 2. MMAV is reduced to monomethyl arsonous form (MMAsIII), which is then methylated by AS3MT to form dimethylarsinic acid (DMAsV)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The anti-cancer mechanisms of ATO
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Schuhmacher-Wolz U, Dieter HH, Klein D, Schneider K. Oral exposure to inorganic arsenic: evaluation of its carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic effects. Crit Rev Toxicol. 2009;39(4):271–298. doi: 10.1080/10408440802291505. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chiu HF, Ho SC, Yang CY. Lung cancer mortality reduction after installation of tap-water supply system in an arseniasis-endemic area in southwestern Taiwan. Lung Cancer. 2004;46(3):265–270. doi: 10.1016/j.lungcan.2004.05.012. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Rodríguez-Lado L, Sun G, Berg M, Zhang Q, Xue H, Zheng Q, et al. Groundwater arsenic contamination throughout China. Science. 2013;341(6148):866–868. doi: 10.1126/science.1237484. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chen CJ, Chuang YC, Lin TM, Wu HY. Malignant neoplasms among residents of a Blackfoot disease-endemic area in Taiwan: high-arsenic artesian well water and cancers. Cancer Res. 1985;45(11 Pt 2):5895–5899. - PubMed
    1. Putila JJ, Guo NL. Association of arsenic exposure with lung cancer incidence rates in the United States. PLoS One. 2011;6(10):e25886. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0025886. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources