Sams Reeder, Wolf Douglas C, Ramasamy Santhini, Ohanian Ed, Chen Jonathan, Lowit Anna
Integrated Risk Information System Program, National Center for Environmental Assessment, MC: B-243 01, Office of Research and Development, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA.
Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2007 Aug 1;222(3):245-51. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2007.01.007. Epub 2007 Jan 20.
The chronic exposure of humans through consumption of high levels of inorganic arsenic (iAs)-contaminated drinking water is associated with skin lesions, peripheral vascular disease, hypertension, and cancers. Additionally, humans are exposed to organic arsenicals when used as pesticides and herbicides (e.g., monomethylarsonic acid, dimethylarsinic acid (DMA(V)) also known as cacodylic acid). Extensive research has been conducted to characterize the adverse health effects that result from exposure to iAs and its metabolites to describe the biological pathway(s) that lead to adverse health effects. To further this effort, on May 31, 2006, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) sponsored a meeting entitled "Workshop on Arsenic Research and Risk Assessment". The invited participants from government agencies, academia, independent research organizations and consultants were asked to present their current research. The overall focus of these research efforts has been to determine the potential human health risks due to environmental exposures to arsenicals. Pursuant in these efforts is the elucidation of a mode of action for arsenicals. This paper provides a brief overview of the workshop goals, regulatory context for arsenical research, mode of action (MOA) analysis in human health risk assessment, and the application of MOA analysis for iAs and DMA(V). Subsequent papers within this issue will present the research discussed at the workshop, ensuing discussions, and conclusions of the workshop.
人类长期通过饮用高含量无机砷（iAs）污染的饮用水而接触砷，这与皮肤病变、外周血管疾病、高血压和癌症有关。此外，人类在使用作为杀虫剂和除草剂的有机砷化合物时也会接触到砷（例如，一甲基胂酸、二甲基胂酸（DMA(V)），也称为卡可基酸）。已经开展了广泛的研究来确定接触iAs及其代谢产物所导致的不良健康影响，以描述导致不良健康影响的生物学途径。为推动这项工作，2006年5月31日，美国环境保护局（USEPA）主办了一次题为“砷研究与风险评估研讨会”的会议。来自政府机构、学术界、独立研究组织和咨询公司的受邀参与者被要求介绍他们目前的研究。这些研究工作的总体重点是确定因环境接触砷化合物而对人类健康造成的潜在风险。这些努力的目的还在于阐明砷化合物的作用模式。本文简要概述了研讨会的目标、砷研究的监管背景、人类健康风险评估中的作用模式（MOA）分析，以及MOA分析在iAs和DMA(V)中的应用。本期后续文章将介绍研讨会上讨论的研究、随后的讨论以及研讨会的结论。
