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Association Between Arsenic Toxicity, AS3MT Gene Polymorphism and Onset of Type 2 Diabetes

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Abstract

Arsenic (As) exposure in drinking water has become a serious public health issue. AS3MT gene is involved in the metabolism of arsenic, so a single nucleotide polymorphism in this gene may lead to the development of type 2 diabetes in arsenic-exposed areas. This study aimed to evaluate the association of the AS3MT gene with the development of type 2 diabetes in highly arsenic-exposed areas of Punjab, Pakistan. Total 200 samples equal in number from high arsenic exposed-areas of Lahore (Nishtar) and Kasur (Mustafa Abad) were collected. rs11191439 was utilized as an influential variable to evaluate the association between arsenic metabolism and diabetes status to find a single nucleotide polymorphism in the AS3MT gene. We observed the arsenic level in drinking water of the arsenic-exposed selected areas 115.54 ± 1.23 µg/L and 96.88 ± 0.48 µg/L, respectively. The As level in the urine of diabetics (98.54 ± 2.63 µg/L and 56.38 ± 12.66 µg/L) was higher as compared to non-diabetics (77.58 ± 1.8 µg/L and 46.9 ± 8.95 µg/L) of both affected areas, respectively. Correspondingly, the As level in the blood of diabetics (6.48 ± 0.08 µg/L and 5.49 ± 1.43 µg/L) and non-diabetics (6.22 ± 0.12 µg/L and 5.26 ± 0.24 µg/L) in the affected areas. Genoty** showed significant differences in the frequencies of alleles among cases and controls. Nevertheless, notable disparities in genotype distribution were observed in SNPs rs11191439 (T/C) (P < 0.05) and when comparing T2D patients and non-diabetic control subjects. The AS3MT gene and clinical parameters show a significant association with the affected people with diabetes living in arsenic-exposed areas.

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Funding

Government College University, Lahore, Pakistan and University of the Punjab, Pakistan provided partial funding; every type of facility which help in completion of this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, Government College University, Lahore, Pakistan

    Saima Shokat, Riffat Iqbal & Atif Yaqub

  2. Institute of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan

    Samreen Riaz

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  1. Saima Shokat
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  2. Riffat Iqbal
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  3. Samreen Riaz
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  4. Atif Yaqub
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Contributions

All the authors contribute equally. Saima shokat wrote the main manuscript as research scholar, Dr. Riffat Iqbal helps in proof reading the manuscript, Dr. Samreen provide research lab facilities and Dr. Atif guides in genetic analysis.

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Correspondence to Saima Shokat.

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Shokat, S., Iqbal, R., Riaz, S. et al. Association Between Arsenic Toxicity, AS3MT Gene Polymorphism and Onset of Type 2 Diabetes. Biol Trace Elem Res 202, 1550–1558 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-023-03919-2

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