砷的胚胎发育毒性研究进展

Effects of arsenic exposure on embryonic development

胚胎发育除受自身基因调控外,还受外界环境因素的影响。砷普遍存在于自然界中,是一种严重威胁人类健康的环境污染物。研究表明砷除一般毒性和致癌效应外,还具有发育毒性。子宫内砷暴露会干扰胚胎的正常发育,导致流产、死产、出生缺陷、低出生体重等不良妊娠结局。本文从流行病学研究、动物体内及体外实验等方面综述了砷的胚胎发育毒性,并探讨其可能的作用机制,为砷污染地区预防出生缺陷、提高人口质量提供了依据。

Embryonic development is not only regulated by the specific genes but also influenced by environmental factors.Arsenic is a metalloid widely existing in nature and poses a serious threat to human health.In addition to its general toxicity and carcinogenic effects,arsenic is also considered to be a developmental toxicant.Arsenic can cross the placenta in both animals and humans.It has been reported that arsenic exposure in utero may lead to spontaneous abortion,stillbirth,birth defects,decreased newborn birth weight or other adverse pregnancy outcomes.This paper is a review about the embryonic toxicity of arsenic from the aspects of epidemiology,animal studies and in vitro experiments.The possible mechanisms for how arsenic interferes with normal development of embryos were also concluded.