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Enteric bacteria may play a role in mammalian arsenic metabolism
Author(s) -
Kuroda Koichi,
Yoshida Kaoru,
Yasukawa Akira,
Wanibuchi Hideki,
Fukushima Shoji,
Endo Ginji
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
applied organometallic chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.53
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1099-0739
pISSN - 0268-2605
DOI - 10.1002/aoc.193
Subject(s) - arsenic , arsenite , arsenate , chemistry , metabolism , bacteria , biochemistry , glutathione , urine , microbial metabolism , escherichia coli , chromatography , organic chemistry , biology , enzyme , gene , genetics
The cecal content of rats administered dimethylarsinic acid for 6 months via drinking water was cultured in GAM medium with 10 mg l −1 of dimethylarsinic acid. Arsenic compounds in the culture were analyzed by ion chromatography with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (IC–ICP‐MS). Dimethylarsinic acid was metabolized. Two bacterial Escherichia coli strains, A3‐4 and A3‐6, were isolated from the culture. These strains metabolized dimethylarsinic acid and yielded two unidentified arsenic compounds, M‐2 and M‐3. A3‐6 methylated dimethylarsinic acid to trimethylarsine oxide. Both strains metabolized trimethylarsine oxide and yielded an unidentified arsenic compound, M‐1. These unknown arsenic compounds were the same compounds as detected in the urine and the feces of rats administered dimethylarsinic acid. The strains reduced arsenate to arsenite efficiently. Cysteine was required for metabolism of dimethylarsinic acid by these bacteria, but glutathione was not required. These results strongly suggested that the intestinal bacteria have a different arsenic metabolism from that in mammals and that they may play a possible role in mammalian arsenic metabolism. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.