# Genetic underpinning of diabetes associated with arsenic exposure

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2020 · $675,329

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Inorganic arsenic (iAs) is a common drinking water and food contaminant poisoning hundreds of millions of
individuals around the world, including the US. It has been established that chronic exposure to iAs is
associated with risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and that metabolism of iAs into its methylated forms is a critical
component in determining T2D risk in humans. The methylation of iAs is catalyzed by arsenic
methyltransferase (AS3MT). While studies using genome-wide approaches have identified polymorphisms in
AS3MT as the major genetic factor determining the inter-individual differences in iAs metabolism, the genetic
underpinning of the susceptibility to iAs-associated T2D has never been systematically examined, leaving a
critical knowledge gap. Results of population studies carried out by our team suggest that polymorphisms in
AS3MT and in several other genes involved in iAs metabolism or in the regulation of glucose homeostasis may
also contribute to T2D risk. This project will use the Diversity Outbred (DO) and Collaborative Cross (CC)
mouse populations to address this knowledge gap. The central hypothesis of this proposal is that multiple
genes and haplotypes (in addition to As3mt) will be tied to diabetic phenotypes associated with iAs
exposure. We will first examine the range of metabolic phenotypes in a large cohort of DO mice exposed to
iAs. Differences in iAs metabolism will be assessed in both urine and liver. Mice will be genotyped and genetic
mapping will lead to identification of Quantitative Trait Loci (QTLs) and founder haplotypes associated with risk
and protective alleles. The roles of sex, iAs exposure dose and gene expression as a mediator of haplotype-
phenotype relationships will then be established using CC strains with contrasting alleles at the QTLs. Finally,
we will assess the roles of the risk loci identified in the mouse cohorts in the inter-individual differences in iAs
metabolism and metabolic phenotypes in an existing human cohort in which iAs exposure was linked to T2D
The proposed project will be the first to systematically examine genetic foundation of the susceptibility to T2D
associated with iAs exposure. Data generated by this project could suggest new risk assessment and
prevention strategies in populations where iAs exposures are common and where remediation efforts aiming to
reduce human exposure to iAs failed

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9856452
- **Project number:** 5R01ES029925-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **Principal Investigator:** Rebecca Fry
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $675,329
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-02-01 → 2024-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9856452

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9856452, Genetic underpinning of diabetes associated with arsenic exposure (5R01ES029925-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9856452. Licensed CC0.

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