Léonard A, Lauwerys R R
Mutat Res. 1980 Jan;75(1):49-62. doi: 10.1016/0165-1110(80)90027-5.
Arsenic may be released into the environmental through industrial processes and through the generation of power from coal. It is also widely used in agriculture and was formerly used extensively in medicine. For the general population, exposure to arsenic occurs mainly through the ingestion of foodstuffs containing inorganic and organic arsenicals. Trivalent arsenicals are regarded as being primarily sulfhydryl reagents with the result they inhibit a number of thiol-dependent enzymic systems in various tissues. Arsenite also has an effect on DNA synthesis and DNA repair. Owing to its lower affinity for hydroxy and thiol groups, pentavalent arsenate inhibits fewer enzymic systems. Although there is no reliable evidence that arsenic produces tumors in experimental animals, epidemiological studies show that the incidence of epidermoid carcinomas of the skin and lungs, and of pre-cancerous dermal keratoses, is significantly increased in human subjects who have been chronically exposed to arsenic compounds by oral or respiratory routes. Arsenic appears to be one of the only teratogenic members of the Group V metals. Most of the studies performed on the mutagenic activity of arsenic have provided positive results. They involve experiments on microorganisms, plant material and Drosophila as well as observations on the ability of this metal to induce, in vitro and in vivo, chromosomal aberrations in mammalian cells.
砷可通过工业生产过程以及煤炭发电释放到环境中。它在农业中也有广泛应用，并且以前在医学上也被大量使用。对于普通人群而言，接触砷主要是通过摄入含有无机和有机砷化合物的食物。三价砷化合物被认为主要是巯基试剂，其结果是它们会抑制各种组织中的一些依赖巯基的酶系统。亚砷酸盐对DNA合成和DNA修复也有影响。由于五价砷酸盐对羟基和巯基的亲和力较低，它抑制的酶系统较少。虽然没有可靠证据表明砷会在实验动物中诱发肿瘤，但流行病学研究表明，通过口服或呼吸道途径长期接触砷化合物的人类受试者，皮肤和肺部的表皮样癌以及癌前皮肤角化病的发病率会显著增加。砷似乎是第Ⅴ族金属中仅有的致畸性元素之一。大多数关于砷致突变活性的研究都得出了肯定的结果。这些研究包括对微生物、植物材料和果蝇的实验，以及对这种金属在体外和体内诱导哺乳动物细胞染色体畸变能力的观察。
