Abstract
Arsenic and selenium elements play extremely important roles in organisms. Too high As concentration in blood may lead to functional disorders within organs, including cancer. Arsenic is designated as a Group 1 human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer that has established causal role of arsenic in cancers of the urinary bladder, lung, and skin in humans. In contrast, Se is believed to be the antioxidant trace element that is important in the biological defense against oxidative damage. We tested the hypothesis that immunosuppressive treatment based on mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), that is one of the most commonly used drug by renal transplant recipients, affects arsenic and selenium concentration in erythrocytes of renal transplant recipients. Current research was undertaken due to the fact that there are few studies on the concentration of chemical elements in the erythrocytes in kidney patients receiving immunosuppressive drugs. Monitoring of the concentration of chemical elements in the blood in patients who underwent kidney transplantation could be helpful, since chemical elements play an important role in many biological processes and it seems to be crucial in the prevention of cancer to which renal transplant recipients are more often exposed.The material consisted of blood from 115 renal transplant recipients of the Department of Nephrology, Transplantology, and Internal Medicine of Independent Public Clinical Hospital No. 2, Pomeranian Medical University, in the city of Szczecin in northwestern Poland. Arsenic and selenium levels in erythrocytes were quantified by inductively coupled mass spectroscopy.Men MMF+ had significantly higher As concentration than men MMF−. Se concentration was significantly higher in younger patients compared with older patients. The patients with lower creatinine level who used MMF had significantly higher As than MMF− patients. Patients whose therapy was based on MMF, cyclosporine A and glucocorticosteroids exhibited significantly higher concentration of As compared with patients whose regimen was based on MMF, tacrolimus, and glucocorticosteroids.This is the first study that demonstrates that regimen based on mycophenolate mofetil affects As and Se concentrations in erythrocytes in renal transplant recipients.
Highlights
Renal transplant recipients exhibit decreased immunity due to the intake of immunosuppressive treatment
In order to better understand how the As and Se concentration in erythrocytes of renal recipients changes, we hypothesized that mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), the most commonly ID used by RTRs, influences and changes the proportions between the aforementioned chemical elements. The aim of this current study was to examine and compare the concentrations of arsenic and selenium in erythrocytes of renal transplant recipients treated with MMF and without MMF, in various drug combinations
Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients were determined. Both the K-S test and the K-S test with Lilliefors correction showed no characteristics of normal distribution, and the mean concentrations of metals in the samples were compared with the use of a non-parametric M-W U test
Summary
Renal transplant recipients exhibit decreased immunity due to the intake of immunosuppressive treatment. The use of immunosuppressive drugs is necessary in their case, since it prevents the graft rejection. One of the most commonly used immunosuppresive drugs is mycophenolate mofetil (MMF). The mechanism of action of MMF needs more studies; it is known that it can influence chemical element concentration. Arsenic (As) is involved in oxidative stress that may lead to renal graft disorder. Numerous studies have documented blood As level due to the influence of diet and exogenous factors on its concentration.
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