Randomized trial examines bladder vulnerability to arsenic in males and females, suggesting a sex-dependent mechanism for cancer risk.
Key Points
To investigate how chronic low-dose inorganic arsenic exposure affects bladder cancer development differently in males and females.
Male and female mice received inorganic arsenic in drinking water for 12 months.
Integrated analyses of microbiome, metabolome, and spatial transcriptomics were performed on bladder and gut samples.
Arsenic concentration and biochemical changes were assessed post-exposure.
Males showed higher levels of monomethylated arsenic while females had increased dimethylarsinic acid and greater methylation capacity.
Chronic arsenic exposure led to significant urothelial changes and altered microbiome composition, with increased pro-inflammatory taxa.
Sex-specific molecular signatures were identified in bladder epithelium, with males exhibiting DNA methylation changes and females showing oxidative stress responses.