Correlations of trace element levels within and between different normal autopsy tissues analyzed by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES)

Imbalance in trace metal metabolism may lead to metal interactions that may be of patho-physiological importance. Knowledge of the relation between trace metals in normal tissues is needed to assess abnormal deviations associated with disease. In this study correlations between Cu, Co, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, Se, Zn, Al, Ba, Cd, Pb and Sr within the same and between 6 different, normal autopsy tissues were determined using Spearman rank correlation analysis based on analytical data obtained by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). Fe-Co were correlated in most tissues. Cu-Mn, Zn-Cu, Zn-Mn and Zn-Cd were highly correlated in the kidney medulla. Ni-Ni, Sr-Sr and Cd-Cd were correlated between several tissues, while Fe-Fe, Zn-Zn and Cu-Cu were correlated between kidney cortex and medulla. Mn-Mn was highly correlated between the liver and brain front lobe, cerebellum and heart. High correlations were found for Ni-Co and for Se-Mn between the kidney cortex and brain front lobe and pancreas respectively. Inverse correlations were found for Se-Cd between kidney cortex and cerebellum, for Se-Cd and Cd-Zn between kidney medulla and heart, for Co-Sr and Fe-Sr between the liver and kidney cortex and heart respectively, and for Sr-Mn between kidney medulla and pancreas. A large number of trace elements are statistically correlated within and between different, normal tissues. Knowledge of these correlations may contribute to increase the understanding of kinetic interactions of trace metals in the body and the role of such interactions in normal and disturbed trace metal metabolism.