Hindawi Publishing Corporation Journal of Toxicology Volume 2012, Article ID 356126, 6 pages doi:10.1155/2012/356126 Research Article Genetic Variations of Glutathione S-Transferase Inﬂuence on Blood Cadmium Concentration Nitchaphat Khansakorn,1 Waranya Wongwit,1 Prapin Tharnpoophasiam,1 Bunlue Hengprasith,2 Lerson Suwannathon,3 Suwannee Chanprasertyothin,4 Thunyachai Sura,5 Sming Kaojarern,5 Piyamit Sritara,5 and Jintana Sirivarasai5, 6 1 Department of Social and Environmental Medicine, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand 2 Health Oﬃce, Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, Nonthaburi 11130, Thailand 3 Excellence Service Center For Medical Technology and Quality Improvement, Faculty of Medical Technology, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10700, Thailand 4 Oﬃce of Research Academic and Innovation, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand 5 Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand 6 Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand Correspondence should be addressed to Jintana Sirivarasai, rajsr@mahidol.ac.th Received 13 October 2011; Accepted 16 November 2011 Academic Editor: J. J. Stegeman Copyright © 2012 Nitchaphat Khansakorn et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are involved in biotransformation and detoxiﬁcation of cadmium (Cd). Genetic polymor- phisms in these genes may lead to interindividual variation in Cd susceptibility. The objective of this study was to assess the association of GSTs (GSTT1, GSTM1, and GSTP1 Val105Ile) polymorphisms with blood Cd concentrations in a nonoccupationally exposed population. The 370 blood samples were analyzed for Cd concentration and polymorphisms in GSTs genes. Geometric mean of blood Cd among this population was 0.46 ± 0.02 μg/L (with 95% CI; 0.43–0.49 μg/L). Blood Cd concentrations in subjects carrying GSTP1 Val/Val genotype were signiﬁcantly higher than those with Ile/Ile and Ile/Val genotypes. No signiﬁcant diﬀerences in blood Cd concentrations among individual with gene deletions of GSTT1 and GSTM1 were observed. GSTP1/GSTT1 and GSTP1/GSTM1 combinations showed signiﬁcantly associated with increase in blood Cd levels. This study indicated that polymorphisms of GSTP1 combined with GSTT1 and/or GSTM1 deletion are likely to inﬂuence on individual susceptibility to cadmium toxicity. 1. Introduction Cadmium (Cd) is widely dispersed in the environment and causes various diseases, both in occupationally exposed indi- viduals and in the general population. The general popula- tion may be exposed to cadmium through ingestion of food and drinking water, inhalation of particulates from ambient air or tobacco smoke, or ingestion of contaminated soil or dust. The major long-term toxic eﬀects of low-level cadmium exposure are renal injury, obstructive pulmonary disease, os- teoporosis, and cardiovascular disease [1]. Cadmium is also a potent human carcinogen and has been associated with can- cers of the lung, prostate, pancreas, and kidney [2]. In human body, Cd is basically taken up by the liver. In the liver, Cd can bind with glutathione (GSH) and be excret- ed into bile. Moreover, Cd can bind to metallothionein (MT) and be stored. Some Cd bound to MT leaks into the plasma and then is taken up by the kidney. The balance between CdMT and nonbound Cd in renal tissue may be responsible for the degree of Cd nephrotoxicity [3, 4]. Therefore, sus- ceptibility to Cd toxicity among individual may probably be related to genetic variations of Cd-metabolizing enzymes.