Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24885596›Full record

ArticleTheoretical biology & medical modelling2014

Mathematical modeling of the effects of glutathione on arsenic methylation.

Sean D Lawley, Jina Yun, Mary V Gamble, Megan N Hall, Michael C Reed, H Frederik Nijhout

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Theoretical biology & medical modelling, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed
1.9field-weighted citation impact, top 16% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 21 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Assessing the Impact of PMEnvironmental science & technology · 2024
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Sean D Lawley
Jina Yun
Mary V Gamble
Megan N Hall
Michael C ReedDepartment of Mathematics, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA. reed@math.duke.edu.
H Frederik Nijhout
Duke University · USColumbia University · US

Funding

True Metal fac coreP30ES009089 · NIEHS · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · PI MATTHEW S PERZANOWSKI · 1998 to 2026
$44.7M
Methods for Pathway Modeling with Application to FolateR01ES019876 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · PI THOMAS, DUNCAN C. · 2010 to 2014
$2.9M
Folic Acid and Creatine as Therapeutic Approaches for Lowering Blood ArenicR01CA133595 · NCI · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · PI GAMBLE, MARY · 2009 to 2013
$2.3M
Nutritional Influences on Arsenic ToxicityR01ES011601 · NIEHS · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · PI GAMBLE, MARY VELESCA · 2003 to 2006
$1.5M
Nutrients involved 1-carbon metabolism and the methylation of arsenic and DNAR00ES018890 · NIEHS · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · PI HALL, MEGAN NINA · 2012 to 2014
$731k
NCI NIH HHS R01 CA133595NIEHS NIH HHS P30 ES009089NIEHS NIH HHS R00ES018890NIEHS NIH HHS R01 ES011601NIEHS NIH HHS R01 ES019876
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundArsenic is a major environmental toxin that is detoxified in the liver by biochemical mechanisms that are still under study. In the traditional metabolic pathway, arsenic undergoes two methylation reactions, each followed by a reduction, after which it is exported and released in the urine. Recent experiments show that glutathione plays an important role in arsenic detoxification and an alternative biochemical pathway has been proposed in which arsenic is first conjugated by glutathione after which the conjugates are methylated. In addition, in rats arsenic-glutathione conjugates can be exported into the plasma and removed by the liver in the bile.

methodsWe have developed a mathematical model for arsenic biochemistry that includes three mechanisms by which glutathione affects arsenic methylation: glutathione increases the speed of the reduction steps; glutathione affects the activity of arsenic methyltranferase; glutathione sequesters inorganic arsenic and its methylated downstream products. The model is based as much as possible on the known biochemistry of arsenic methylation derived from cellular and experimental studies.

resultsWe show that the model predicts and helps explain recent experimental data on the effects of glutathione on arsenic methylation. We explain why the experimental data imply that monomethyl arsonic acid inhibits the second methylation step. The model predicts time course data from recent experimental studies. We explain why increasing glutathione when it is low increases arsenic methylation and that at very high concentrations increasing glutathione decreases methylation. We explain why the possible temporal variation of the glutathione concentration affects the interpretation of experimental studies that last hours.

conclusionsThe mathematical model aids in the interpretation of data from recent experimental studies and shows that the Challenger pathway of arsenic methylation, supplemented by the glutathione effects described above, is sufficient to understand and predict recent experimental data. More experimental studies are needed to explicate the detailed mechanisms of action of glutathione on arsenic methylation. Recent experimental work on the effects of glutathione on arsenic methylation and our modeling study suggest that supplements that increase hepatic glutathione production should be considered as strategies to reduce adverse health effects in affected populations.

Indexed as

Models, StatisticalAnimalsArsenicGlutathioneInactivation, MetabolicMethylationRatsArsenicGlutathione

Identifiers

PMID24885596
PMCPMC4041632
OpenAlexW2156964492

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.