Abstract
BackgroundPrevious studies have provided some evidence of a possible association between cancer and metallothioneins. Whether this relates to an exposure to carcinogenic metals remains unclear.MethodsIn order to examine the association between the expression of metallothioneins and bladder tumors, and to compare the levels of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead and nickel in animals with bladder tumors and animals without bladder tumors, 37 cases of bovine bladder tumors and 17 controls were collected. The detection and quantification of metallothioneins in bladder tissue of both cases and controls was performed by immunohistochemistry. And the quantification of metals in tissue and hair was assessed by inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry.ResultsIncreased expression of metallothioneins was associated with bladder tumors when compared with non-tumoral bladder tissue (OR = 9.3, 95% CI: 1.0 – 480). The concentrations of cadmium, chromium, lead and nickel in hair of cases were significantly higher than those of controls. However, as for the concentration of metals in bladder tissue, the differences were not significant.ConclusionThough the sample size was small, the present study shows an association between bladder tumors and metallothioneins. Moreover, it shows that concentrations of metals such as cadmium, chromium, lead and nickel in hair may be used as a biomarker of exposure.
Highlights
Previous studies have provided some evidence of a possible association between cancer and metallothioneins
Though these have been mentioned as potential risk factors of urinary bladder cancer in cattle, other factors may be of importance
From each urinary bladder two adjacent tissue samples were taken, and while one was fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin and paraffin embedded for histopathology and immunohistochemistry, the other was prepared for inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (ICP/MS) analysis, in order to quantify the concentrations of arsenic, cadmium and lead
Summary
Previous studies have provided some evidence of a possible association between cancer and metallothioneins. The occurrence of urinary bladder cancer in cattle has been related to infection by bovine papilloma virus (BPV), and grazing on pastures rich in bracken fern [2]. Though these have been mentioned as potential risk factors of urinary bladder cancer in cattle, other factors may be of importance. BMC Veterinary Research 2009, 5:24 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1746-6148/5/24 environmental factors play a role in the development of bladder cancer. These are aromatic amines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, chlorination by-products, and high arsenic levels[3]
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