Project Summary (2000-2005)

This study is designed to address research gaps concerning the risk of low-level arsenic exposure. Epidemiologic studies have associated arsenic exposure with an increased risk of lung, skin, bladder, liver and stomach cancers. The molecular and cellular mechanisms by which arsenic acts as a carcinogen have not been clearly elucidated, although it appears to act through epigenetic mechanisms. Arsenic has been implicated in promoting alterations in multiple cellular pathways, including growth and proliferation, apoptosis, DNA repair, immunosurveillance, and stress response. Project investigators are performing microarray analyses to measure the expression of genes involved in the cell growth and proliferation pathways in the arsenic exposed subjects in Ajo, AZ as compared with the Tucson controls. The researchers are also comparing gene expression in bronchoepithelial and buccal cells to determine how representative buccal cells are of other epithelial cell types.