Biomarkers of renal toxicity caused by exposure to arsenic in drinking water

This study is intended to explore effective and sensitive biomarkers for kidney damage after low level arsenic (As) exposure and to provide scientific evidence on cut-off values of arsenic concentrations in drinking water. The levels of α1-MG detected in urine samples were found to have statistically significant differences between high As group (As > 0.05 mg/L) and a combination of low and medium As exposure groups (As < 0.05 mg/L, p = 0.018), as well as between the patient and high As groups (As in two group were both higher than 0.05 mg/L, p < 0.001). After the logistic regression analysis the AUC values of α1-MG between two comparisons were 0.613 and 0.701, and p value was less than 0.05. The present data demonstrate the potential value of α1-MG excretion as a biomarker of renal toxicity, which could contribute to the enforcement of the maximum limit of 0.05 mg/L arsenic in drinking water for non-central water supply in rural areas.

► We selected three exposure groups according to two levels of arsenic in water. ► We investigated the differences in urine indicators among subjects. ► We find out valuable biomarkers of human kidney dysfunctions by ROC analysis. ► α1-MG can be used as a good biomarker of renal dysfunctions upon arsenic exposure. ► The arsenic safe limit in drinking water should be less than 0.05 mg/L.