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Weng M, Dolgova NV, Vogt LI, Qureshi M, Sokaras D, Kroll T, Saitō H, O'Donoghue JL, Watson GE, Myers GJ, Sekikawa T, Pickering IJ, George GN. Synchrotron speciation of umbilical cord mercury and selenium after environmental exposure in Niigata. Neurotoxicology 2024; 100:117-123. [PMID: 38128735 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuro.2023.12.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2023] [Revised: 12/09/2023] [Accepted: 12/17/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
The insidious and deadly nature of mercury's organometallic compounds is informed by two large scale poisonings due to industrial mercury pollution that occurred decades ago in Minamata and Niigata, Japan. The present study examined chemical speciation for both mercury and selenium in a historic umbilical cord sample from a child born to a mother who lived near the Agano River in Niigata. The mother had experienced mercury exposure leading to more than 50 ppm mercury measured in her hair and was symptomatic 9 years prior to the birth. We sought to determine the mercury and selenium speciation in the child's cord using Hg Lα1 and Se Kα1 high-energy resolution fluorescence detected X-ray absorption spectroscopy, the chemical speciation of mercury was found to be predominantly organometallic and coordinated to a thiolate. The selenium was found to be primarily in an organic form and at levels higher than those of mercury, with no evidence of mercury-selenium chemical species. Our results are consistent with mercury exposure at Niigata being due to exposure to organometallic mercury species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monica Weng
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, 114 Science Place, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5E2, Canada
| | - Natalia V Dolgova
- Calibr - California Institute for Biomedical Research, Scripps Research, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Linda I Vogt
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, 114 Science Place, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5E2, Canada
| | - Muhammad Qureshi
- Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
| | - Dimosthenis Sokaras
- Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
| | - Thomas Kroll
- Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
| | | | - John L O'Donoghue
- Department of Environmental Medicine, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Gene E Watson
- Department of Environmental Medicine, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA; Eastman Institute for Oral Health, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Gary J Myers
- Department of Environmental Medicine, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA; Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Tomoko Sekikawa
- Department of Internal Medicine, Nuttari Clinic, 6-4-12 Nuttarihigasi, Chuo-ku, Niigata 950-0075, Japan
| | - Ingrid J Pickering
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, 114 Science Place, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5E2, Canada; Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada; Department of Chemistry, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Graham N George
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, 114 Science Place, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5E2, Canada; Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada; Department of Chemistry, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
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