Toenail mercury concentration as a biomarker of methylmercury exposure

The aim of the study was to assess the value of toenail mercury as an alternative biomarker of methylmercury exposure compared with blood and hair. Blood, hair and toenail total mercury concentrations were determined simultaneously in a southern urban sea n = 35 and an eastern rural lake n = 37 group and separately in a central Finnish rural lake n = 39 group. A questionnaire based index was used for estimating frequency of exposure taking into account high vs low mercury fish. Total mercury concentration was determined by cold vapour atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The mean Fish Consumption Frequency Index varied from 4.7 to 9.9 on a scale of 1-20. The blood, hair and toenail mercury mean concentrations ranged from 2.9 to 14.6 g l-1, 0.45 to 1.57 mg kg-1 and 0.20 to 0.54 mg kg-1, respectively. In the combined southern and eastern groups n = 72 sampled simultaneously, the correlations between blood and hair mercury were r = 0.92 and that of blood and toenails r = 0.78 p 0.0001 . In the central Finnish group the correlations were more moderate. In the three groups all three biomarkers correlated highly with the fish consumption index, r = 0.43-0.76 p 0.0001 . Men consumed high mercury fish more frequently than women, 8.6 vs 6.6 n.s. The mean mercury levels of blood and hair were two fold, but toenail mercury levels were only 30 higher in men compared with those of the women. The relative sensitivity slope of the sources decreased in the order, blood hair toenails. In conclusion, toenails, an easily accessible tissue for the estimation of methylmercury exposure, have been shown to be closely correlated with the well established samples for biomarkers, viz. blood and hair mercury.     

Phenanthroimidazole-based thiobenzamide as an effective sensor for highly selective detection of mercury(II)

Based on highly selective and irreversible Hg²⁺-promoted desulfurization reaction, a new and simple phenanthroimidazole-type sensor was prepared and exhibited high selectivity towards Hg²⁺ ion over other metal ions, accompanied by transformation of a weakly fluorescent thioamide moiety (colorless) to a highly fluorescent amide one (blue), with a 136-fold increase in fluorescent intensity in aqueous solution with a pH span 2.57–9.12.     

Pollution characteristics of mercury (Hg) in surface sediments of major basins,China

To investigate the pollution status and potential pollution risk of mercury (Hg) in China, surface sediment samples were collected from eight hundred and eighty-one sites, including ten major basins (Songhua River Basin (SRB), Liao River Basin (LRB), Hai River Basin (HRB), Yellow River Basin (YRB), Huai River Basin (HuRB), Yangtze River Basin (YtRB), Pearl River Basin (PRB), Southeastern River Basin (SeRB), Southwestern River Basin (SwRB) and Northwestern River Basin (NwRB)). Results showed that Hg concentrations in sediments of ten basins in China ranged from 0.001 to 8.800 mg/kg, with average ± S.D. value of 0.274 ± 0.675 mg/kg, which was obviously higher than Chinese soil background value (0.038 mg/kg) and Chinese sediment background value (0.040 mg/kg). The mean Hg concentration of ten basins decreased in the order of HRB > YtRB > SRB > PRB > HuRB > SwRB > YRB > SeRB > LRB > NwRB. Moreover, it was found that the Hg concentrations in the sediments of LRB, YtRB, PRB, SeRB and SwRB were partly driven by their total organic carbon (TOC) contents, while the effect of pH on the distribution of Hg was not obvious. The Hg concentration data were also compared with those got in other periods (1994–2015) to obtain the general variation tendency of Hg level. It was recorded that Hg concentrations in HRB have remained on high levels for a long history, while Hg contamination situation in YRB after 2004 has potentially turned to be better. The results of pollution assessment by sediment quality assessment guidelines (SQGs), contamination factor (CF), geoaccumulation index (I_geo) and potential ecological risk (E_i) suggested that YRB and HRB were the most seriously polluted river basins among the ten basins. It is urgent of constructing SQGs in China to scientifically evaluate the Hg pollution in the future.     

Mercury decreases the frequency of induced but not spontaneous clustering of acetylcholine receptors

Studies with environmental levels of various metals typically focus on observable neurological symptoms in newborns and adults. Use of the C2C12 skeletal muscle cell line as a developmental model enabled us to test whether environmental insults prevented myotube formation or the assembly of the postsynaptic component of the neuromuscular synapse. Specifically, we asked whether the inorganic metal mercury interfered with the fusion of myoblasts into myotubes, acetylcholine receptor (AChR) clustering, or the agrin signaling events that precede AChR clustering. C2C12 myotubes grown in culture medium containing 10 M mercuric chloride were morphologically indistinguishable from control myotubes at the light-microscopic level, and myoblasts fused into myotubes normally. However, myotubes pretreated with mercury demonstrated a decreased frequency of AChR clustering induced by agrin and other experimental manipulations. Furthermore, mercury pretreatment decreased the agrin-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of the AChR subunit, thus inhibiting the agrin signal transduction pathway. In contrast, mercury failed to decrease the frequency of spontaneous AChR clustering, suggesting that spontaneous AChR clustering differs from agrin-induced AChR clustering in some significant way.This work was supported in part by Midwestern University     

Intracellular accumulation of mercury enhances P450 CYP1A1 expression and Cl- currents in cultured shark rectal gland cells

The effects of acute and subchronic exposure to mercury on the Cl- current (ICl) were investigated in cultured shark rectal gland (SRG) cells. The effects of intracellular accumulation of mercury on cytochrome P450 (P450) were also assessed. Bath perfusion of a cocktail solution containing forskolin, 1-isobutyl-3-methylxanthine, and 8-bromoadenosine monophosphate enhanced ICl. Addition of 10 microM HgCl2 significantly inhibited the cAMP-activated ICl (p < 0.05, n = 11). Intracellular dialysis with ATP gamma S did not prevent the inhibitory effect of mercury on ICl. In contrast, incubation of SRG cells with 10 microM HgCl2 for 48 hrs markedly increased ICl (p < 0.01, n = 12). Dephosphorylation of the channel by intracellular dialysis with phosphatase I and II abolished the mercury-incubated increase in ICl. The P450-mediated metabolite of arachidonic acid, 11,12-epoxyeicosatrienoic acid (11,12-EET), significantly increased ICl. However, application of 11,12-dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acid (11,12-DHT) did not alter ICl. Mercury incubation for 48 hrs did not alter the protein expression of Cl- channels, but caused an induction of CYP1A1 in cultured SRG cells. In addition, co-incubation of SRG cells with mercury and the P450 inhibitor clotrimazole prevented the mercury-incubated increase in ICl. Our results demonstrate that acute and subchronic application of mercury has opposing effects on ICl in cultured SRG cells. The acute effect of mercury on ICl may result from mercury blockade of Cl- channels. The subchronic effect of mercury on ICl may be due to an induction of P450 CYP1A1 and its mediated metabolites, but not due to an over-expression of Cl- channels.     

Diversity of mercury resistance determinants among Bacillus strains isolated from sediment of Minamata Bay

Thirty mercury-resistant (Hg R) Bacillus strains were isolated from mercury-polluted sediment of Minamata Bay, Japan. Mercury resistance phenotypes were classified into broad-spectrum (resistant to inorganic Hg(2+) and organomercurials) and narrow-spectrum (resistant to inorganic Hg(2+) and sensitive to organomercurials) groups. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) product sizes and the restriction nuclease site maps of mer operon regions from all broad-spectrum Hg R Bacillus were identical to that of Bacillus megaterium MB1. On the other hand, the PCR products of the targeted merP (extracellular mercury-binding protein gene) and merA (intracellular mercury reductase protein gene) regions from the narrow-spectrum Hg R Bacillus were generally smaller than those of the B. megaterium MB1 mer determinant. Diversity of gene structure configurations was also observed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) profiles of the merA PCR products from the narrow-spectrum Hg R Bacillus. The genetic diversity of narrow-spectrum mer operons was greater than that of broad-spectrum ones.     

Effects of mercury on microbial biomass and enzyme activities in soil

Mercury (Hg) is a persistent soil pollutant that affects soil microbial activity. We monitored the changes in soil microbial biomass and activity of enzymes, including alkaline phosphatase, arylsulfatase, fluorescein diacetate (FDA) hydrolytic activity, and o-diphenol oxidase (o-DPO) in three soils contaminated with different concentrations of Hg. Increasing levels of Hg, from 0.5 to 10 μmol/g of dried soil, generally depressed microbial activity; however, the effects of Hg on soil microbial activity depended on soil type and composition, particularly organic matter content. o-DPO was less affected by Hg than the other three enzymes tested. Our results indicate that the analysis of microbial biomass content and soil-enzyme activities may be used to predict the soil quality contaminated with Hg.     

Mercury and non-protein thiol compounds in the seagrass Posidonia oceanica

Mercury concentrations, non-protein thiol levels and the enzyme activities of glutathione-S-transferase (GST) were measured in the blades and sheaths of the marine phanerogam Posidonia oceanica. The seagrass was collected in January and June and at three sites: the Bay of Rosignano (Italy) known for its mercury contamination, the north of the Lérins islands (Bay of Cannes, France), the Bay of Tonnara (Corsica, France). The two latter sites are considered as free of any known industrial inputs. Mercury concentrations and GST activities in both tissues were always higher in samples from Rosignano, particularly in June. Non-protein thiol levels were significantly higher in the blades than in the sheaths of P. oceanica from Tonnara and Lérins. In contrast, at Rosignano, the sheaths presented a significantly higher non-protein thiol concentration than the blades, particularly in June. Levels in the sheaths appeared to increase with the degree of pollution. Western Blot performed on sheaths of P. oceanica collected in June at Rosignano and Lérins revealed a characteristic band of GSTs at 31 kDa, proving the presence of the GST enzyme in this tissue. Mercury seemed to exert an influence upon non-protein thiol metabolism, including GST induction, in P. oceanica collected from the NW Mediterranean.     

Role of Reactive Oxygen Species and Glutathione in Inorganic Mercury-Induced Injury in Human Glioma Cells

The present study was undertaken to examine the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and glutathione (GSH) in glia cells using human glioma cell line A172 cells. HgCl₂ caused the loss of cell viability in a dose-dependent manner. HgCl₂-induced loss of cell viability was not affected by H₂O₂ scavengers catalase and pyruvate, a superoxide scavenger superoxide dismutase, a peroxynitrite scavenger uric acid, and an inhibitor of nitric oxide N^G-nitro-arginine Methyl ester. HgCl₂ did not cause changes in DCF fluorescence, an H₂O₂-sensitive fluorescent dye. The loss of cell viability was significantly prevented by the hydroxyl radical scavengers dimethylthiourea and thiourea, but it was not affected by antioxidants DPPD and Trlox. HgCl₂-induced loss of cell viability was accompanied by a significant reduction in GSH content. The GSH depletion was almost completely prevented by thiols dithiothreitol and GSH, whereas the loss of viability was partially prevented by these agents. Incubation of cells with 0.2 mM buthionine sulfoximine for 24 hr, a selective inhibitor of -glutamylcysteine synthetase, resulted in 56% reduction in GSH content without any change in cell viability. HgCl² resulted in 34% reduction in GSH content, which was accompanied by 59% loss of cell viability. These results suggest that HgCl₂-induced cell death is not associated with generation of H₂O₂ and ROS-induced lipid peroxidation. In addition, these data suggest that the depletion of endogenous GSH itself may not play a critical role in the HgCl₂-induced cytotoxicity in human glioma cells.