Influence of cobalamin on arsenic metabolism in Bangladesh
Arsenic is a carcinogen to which 35 million people in Bangladesh are chronically exposed. The enzymatic transfer of methyl groups to inorganic As (iAs) generates monomethylarsonic (MMA) and dimethylarsinic acids (DMA) and facilitates urinary As (uAs) elimination. This process is dependent on one-carbon metabolism, a pathway in which folate and cobalamin have essential roles in the recruitment and transfer of methyl groups. Although DMAV is the least toxic metabolite, increasing evidence suggests that MMAIII may be the most cytotoxic and genotoxic As intermediary metabolite.