Environmental exposure to arsenic and chromium in children is associated with kidney injury molecule-1

Abstract

Environmental hazards from natural or anthropological sources are widespread, especially in the north-central region of Mexico. Children represent a susceptible population due to their unique routes of exposure and special vulnerabilities. In this study we evaluated the association of environmental kidney toxicants exposure and kidney injury biomarkers in children living in San Luis Potosi (SLP), Mexico. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 83 children (5-12 years of age) residents of Villa de Reyes, SLP. Exposure to arsenic, cadmium, chromium, fluoride and lead was assessed in urine, blood and drinking water samples. Almost all tap and well water samples had levels of arsenic (81.5%) and fluoride (100%) above the permissible levels recommended by the World Health Organization. Mean urine arsenic (45.6 ppb) and chromium (61.7 ppb) were higher than the biological exposure index, a reference value in occupational settings. Using multivariate adjusted models, we found a dose-dependent association between kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1) across chromium exposure tertiles [(T1: reference, T2: 467 pg/mL; T3: 615 pg/mL) (p-trend=0.001)]. Chromium upper tertile was also associated with higher urinary miR-200c (500 copies/μL) and miR-423 (189 copies/μL). Arsenic upper tertile was also associated with higher urinary KIM-1 (372 pg/mL). Other kidney injury/functional biomarkers such as serum creatinine, glomerular filtration rate, albuminuria, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin and miR-21 did not show any association with arsenic, chromium or any of the other toxicants evaluated. We conclude that KIM-1 might serve as a sensitive biomarker for environmental exposure risk assessment and kidney toxicity in children.

Urinary KIM-1: a novel biomarker for evaluation of occupational exposure to lead

“…The increased expression of KIM-1 in proximal tubular epithelial cells is always suggestive of acute renal injury23242526. Previous studies have also confirmed KIM-1 overexpression in a variety of acute and chronic renal injury in both experimental and human kidney diseases27282930. Since the expression levels of KIM-1 in urinary exfoliated cells are closely associated with its expression in kidney tissues, urinary KIM-1 has been employed to reflect proximal renal tubule injury.…”

Non-Traditional Risk Factors of Albuminuria in the Pediatric Population: A Scoping Review

“…Lead and cadmium are heavy metals that, together with high- or low-molecular weight proteins, have been associated with albuminuria in pediatric and adult urine [ 21 , 22 ]. Other molecules, as chromium, arsenic and mercury, have been studied to determine levels of damage to the kidney and their relationships with albuminuria [ 23 , 24 ]. However, different authors have not found any relationship between albuminuria and such elements in the pediatric population [ 25 ].…”

Prevalence of Albuminuria in Children Living in a Rural Agricultural and Fishing Subsistence Community in Lake Chapala, Mexico

“…The GFR mean was 93.4 and 84 mL/min for girls and boys, respectively. The novelty of the work lies in the association of the urinary concentrations of heavy metals outside of the normative regulations, with non-conventional kidney markers (KIM-1, NGAL, and miR21) [ 43 ].…”