Antagonistic Interaction of Selenium and Cadmium in Human Hepatic Cells Through Selenoproteins

Association between Sperm Mitochondrial DNA Copy Number and Concentrations of Urinary Cadmium and Selenium

Elevated sperm mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNAcn) is associated with damage to sperm and poorer measures of semen quality. Exposure to cadmium (Cd) can increase oxidative stress and damage sperm mitochondria. The adverse effects of Cd can potentially be reduced by sufficient selenium (Se). The objective of this study was to examine the associations between sperm mtDNAcn and urinary concentrations of Cd and Se, as well as the Cd/Se molar ratio. Participants were recruited from patients who sought infertility treatment at two hospitals in Japan. Urine and semen specimens and self-administered questionnaires were collected on the day of recruitment. Sperm mtDNAcn was measured in extracted sperm DNA by multiplex real-time qPCR. Urinary Cd and Se concentrations were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and their molar weights were calculated to obtain the Cd/Se molar ratio. Linear regression was used to estimate associations after adjusting for age, body mass index, smoking, drinking, exercise, varicocele, and hospital of recruitment. Sperm mtDNAcn showed statistically insignificant associations with creatinine-adjusted concentrations of urinary Cd (β = 0.13, 95% CI -0.18, 0.44) and Se (β = -0.09, 95% CI -0.54, 0.35), and Cd/Se molar ratio (β = 0.12, 95% CI -0.13, 0.37). The current study found no evidence of an association between mtDNAcn and urinary concentrations of Cd or Se, or the Cd/Se molar ratio.

Heavy metals and metalloids exposure and liver function in Chinese adults - A nationally representative cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

In China, the effects of heavy metals and metalloids (HMMs) on liver health are not consistently documented, despite their prevalent environmental presence.

OBJECTIVE

Our research assessed the association between HMMs and liver function biomarkers in a comprehensive sample of Chinese adults.

METHODS

We analyzed data from 9445 participants in the China National Human Biomonitoring survey. Blood and urine were evaluated for HMM concentrations, and liver health was gauged using serum albumin (ALB), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) metrics. Various statistical methods were employed to understand the relationship between 11 HMMs and liver function, adjusting for multiple factors. We also explored interactions with alcohol intake, gender, and age.

RESULTS

Among HMMs, selenium in blood [weighted geometric mean (GM) = 95.56 μg/L] and molybdenum in urine (GM = 46.44 μg/L) showed the highest concentrations, while lead in blood (GM = 21.92 μg/L) and arsenic in urine (GM = 19.80 μg/L) had the highest levels among risk HMMs. Manganese and thallium consistently indicated potential risk factor to liver in both sample types, while selenium displayed potential liver protection. Blood HMM mixtures were negatively associated with ALB (β = -0.614, 95% CI: -0.809, -0.418) and positively with AST (β = 0.701, 95% CI: 0.290, 1.111). No significant associations were found in urine HMM mixtures. Manganese, tin, nickel, and selenium were notable in blood mixture associations, with selenium and cobalt being significant in urine. The relationship of certain HMMs varied based on alcohol consumption.

CONCLUSION

This research highlights the complex relationship between HMM exposure and liver health in Chinese adults, particularly emphasizing metals like manganese, thallium, and selenium. The results suggest a need for public health attention to low dose HMM exposure and underscore the potential benefits of selenium for liver health. Further studies are essential to establish causality.

Association between blood heavy metals and lung cancer risk: A case-control study in China

BACKGROUND

Exposure to various metals has been reported to lead to lung cancer. However, few studies focused on the combined effects of metal mixture.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the relationship between metal mixture and lung cancer patients.

METHODS

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to measure the concentration of 8 heavy metals (V, Cr, Mn, Se, Mo, Cd, Ba and Pb) in serum samples of 86 cases and 105 controls in the Tianjin Lung Cancer Cohort. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the effect of each metal on the risk of lung cancer. The restricted cubic spline function was applied to describe the dose-response relationship between various metal concentrations and lung cancer risk. Bayesian Kernel Machine Regression (BKMR), Weighted Quantile Sum (WQS) and Quantile G-Computation (QGC) were employed to explore the effects of metal mixtures as a whole on lung cancer.

RESULTS

An increased risk of lung cancer was associated with higher blood Mo concentration (adjusted OR = 2.94, 95% CI = 1.03-8.74 for tertile 2 vs. tertile 1). Higher Se concentration in blood may have protective effects on the risk of lung cancer (adjusted OR = 0.18, 95% CI = 0.06-0.51 for tertile 3 vs. tertile 1, p-trend <0.001). In addition, Se and Cd may have an antagonism effect on the occurrence of lung cancer (RERI and 95% CI = -0.95 [-31.77, -0.07]; AP and 95% CI = -0.95 [-5.16 -0.74]). Although the metal mixture did not show a significant effect on lung cancer as a whole, this may be due to the offsetting effect between positive and negative effects.

CONCLUSIONS

Our research indicates that Se has a promising anti-cancer application, but it is necessary to prevent the role of Cd that antagonize Se in lung cancer.

Relationship of individual and mixed urinary metals exposure with liver function in the China National Human Biomonitoring (CNHBM) of Zhejiang Province

BACKGROUND

Heavy metals have been reported to affect liver function. However, there is currently little and inconsistent knowledge about the effects of combined and individual urinary metals on specific parameters of liver function in the general population. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate their associations.

METHODS

This study involved 807 general population from the China National Human Biomonitoring of Zhejiang Province 2017-2018. Concentrations of urinary metals, including Chromium (Cr), Cobalt (Co), Nickle (Ni), Arsenic (As), Selenium (Se), Molybdenum (Mo), Cadmium (Cd), Thallium (Tl) and Lead (Pb) were measured. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total protein (TP), albumin (ALB), direct bilirubin (DBIL), total bilirubin (TBIL) as liver function biomarkers. Multivariable linear regression and weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression were employed to explore the associations of urinary metals with liver function biomarkers. Subgroup analysis stratified by gender and age, excluding smokers and drinkers for sensitivity analysis.

RESULTS

Both statistical models indicated that urinary metals were positively associated with ALT and AST, while negatively with TP, ALB, DBIL and TBIL. In the WQS analysis, each quartile increase in the ln-transformed levels of metal mixtures was associated with 4.11 IU/L (95% CI: 1.07, 7.15) higher ALT and 3.00 IU/L (95% CI: 1.75, 4.25) higher AST, as well as, with 0.67 g/L (95% CI: 1.24, -0.11) lower TP, 0.74 g/L (95% CI: 1.09, -0.39) lower ALB, 0.38 μmol/L (95% CI: 0.67, -0.09) lower DBIL, and 1.56 μmol/L (95% CI: 2.22, -0.90) lower TBIL. The association between urinary metals and ALT was primarily driven by Cd (55.8%), Cr contributed the most to the association with AST (20.2%) and TBIL (45.2%), while the association with TP was primarily driven by Ni (38.2%), the association with ALB was primarily driven by As (32.8%), and the association with DBIL was primarily driven by Pb (30.9%). The associations between urinary metals and liver function might differ by sex and age.

CONCLUSION

Urinary metals were significantly associated with liver function parameters. Further studies are required to clarify the relationship between heavy metals and liver function.

Associations of blood metals with liver function: Analysis of NHANES from 2011 to 2018

BACKGROUND

Heavy metals have been reported to affect liver function. However, there is currently little and inconsistent knowledge about the effects of combined and individual blood metals on specific parameters of liver function in the general population. Hence, this study aimed to elucidate their associations.

METHODS

Data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011-2018 were used in this cross-sectional study. Multivariate linear, and a quantile-based g-computation (qgcomp) were applied to explore the associations between blood metals [mercury (Hg), manganese (Mn), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), selenium (Se)], alone and in combination, and liver function parameters [alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), ALT/AST, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) and serum total bilirubin (TBIL)].

RESULTS

A total of 15,328 were included. Multivariate linear models indicated that liver function was significantly associated with blood heavy metals. The most significant relationship was found between Se and AST (β 5.09, 95%CI (3.28,6.91), p＜0.001), Mn and ALT (β 1.24, 95%CI (0.57, 1.91), p＜0.001). Furthermore, the qgcomp analysis showed that the combination of five blood metals was positively associated with AST, ALT, GGT, TBIL and HSI. Cd contributed the most to the correlation of AST (weight = 0.447), Se contributed the most to the association of ALT (weight = 0.438) and HSI (weight = 0.570), Pb contributed the most to the association of GGT (weight = 0.421) and Hg contributed the most to the correlation of TBIL (weight = 0.331).

CONCLUSIONS

Blood heavy metal levels were significantly associated with liver function parameters. Further studies are required to clarify the relationship between heavy metals and liver function.

Speciomics as a concept involving chemical speciation and omics

The study of chemical speciation and the refinement and expansion of omics-based methods are both consolidated and highly active research fields. Although well established, such fields are extremely dynamic and are driven by the emergence of new strategies and improvements in instrumentation. In the case of omics-based studies, subareas including lipidomics, proteomics, metallomics, metabolomics and foodomics have emerged. Here, speciomics is being proposed as an "umbrella" term, that incorporates all of these subareas, to capture studies where the evaluation of chemical species is carried out using omics approaches. This paper contextualizes both speciomics and the speciome, and reviews omics applications used for species identification through examination of proteins, metalloproteins, metabolites, and nucleic acids. In addition, some implications from such studies and a perspective for future development of this area are provided. SIGNIFICANCE: The synergic effect between chemical speciation and omics is highlighted in this work, demonstrating an emerging area of research with a multitude of possibilities in terms of applications and further developments. This work not only defines and contextualizes speciomics and individual speciomes, but also demonstrates with some examples the great potential of this new interdisciplinary area of research.