The plausibility of a role for mercury in the etiology of autism: a cellular perspective

Autism is defined by a behavioral set of stereotypic and repetitious behavioral patterns in combination with social and communication deficits. There is emerging evidence supporting the hypothesis that autism may result from a combination of genetic susceptibility and exposure to environmental toxins at critical moments in development. Mercury (Hg) is recognized as a ubiquitous environmental neurotoxin and there is mounting evidence linking it to neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism. Of course, the evidence is not derived from experimental trials with humans but rather from methods focusing on biomarkers of Hg damage, measurements of Hg exposure, epidemiological data, and animal studies. For ethical reasons, controlled Hg exposure in humans will never be conducted. Therefore, to properly evaluate the Hg-autism etiological hypothesis, it is essential to first establish the biological plausibility of the hypothesis. This review examines the plausibility of Hg as the primary etiological agent driving the cellular mechanisms by which Hg-induced neurotoxicity may result in the physiological attributes of autism. Key areas of focus include: (1) route and cellular mechanisms of Hg exposure in autism; (2) current research and examples of possible genetic variables that are linked to both Hg sensitivity and autism; (3) the role Hg may play as an environmental toxin fueling the oxidative stress found in autism; (4) role of mitochondrial dysfunction; and (5) possible role of Hg in abnormal neuroexcitory and excitotoxity that may play a role in the immune dysregulation found in autism. Future research directions that would assist in addressing the gaps in our knowledge are proposed.     

Mercury exposure through diet in pregnant women and women of childbearing age

The study examined the stage of clean-up of the Port Lavaca bay sites in Texas, which were polluted during the early 1990's by effluent containing mercury (Hg) from a chloralkali plant. In addition to Hg intoxication through environmental contaminations, human exposure through dietary fish and other seafoods occurred. Bacteria converts inorganic Hg to alkyl organic compounds and subsequently the metal crosses the blood brain barrier thus exerting adverse effects on the fetal developing nervous system. In order to conduct a survey of dietary Hg exposure, blood was collected from pregnant women and those of childbearing age at routine clinic visits at each of three centers in South Texas cities (Galveston, Texas City, Port Lavaca/Victoria, TX). A questionnaire sought dietary and lifestyle information including consumption, sources of fish and other seafoods. A significant number of subjects (119 out of 175, 68%) ate fish caught locally. The blood Hg concentrations (µg?L^?1) range varied with the location of the study centers: City of Galveston 2.6–62; Texas City 2.8–111.8; and the Port Lavaca areas 3.02–126.7. The concentrations of blood Hg was directly proportional to the number of fish meals consumed for each species considered. Mean blood Hg concentrations for no fish meals per week were: Port Lavaca 4.5 (N?=?3), Galveston 4.3 (N?=?3), Texas City 3.5 (N?=?10). For >3 fish meals per week, the mean blood Hg concentrations were: Port Lavaca, 48.0 (N?=?53), Galveston 29.1 (N?=?35), Texas City, 36.1 (N?=?31). Data show that residues of Hg were still present in 1994 despite the clean-up efforts.     

Liver and renal lesions in mercury-contaminated narwhals (Monodon monoceros) from North West Greenland

Narwhals (Monodon monoceros) from North West Greenland are known to bioaccumulate mercury (Hg) in tissues and internal organs. This is postulated to be a health concern and therefore studies were undertaken to conduct a screening study of Hg concentrations and histopathology of liver and renal tissues in a total of 12 specimens. The sample consisted of two sub-adults (one male, one female) and 10 adult (six males, four females) collected in Qaanaaq (Thule) 2010. In liver, Hg mean ± SD was 11.88 ± 10.47 μg/g ww (range: 0.39?31.8 μg/g ww) while the concentrations in kidneys were 1.85 ± 1.20 μg/g ww (range: 0.41?4.03 μg/g ww). There was no marked difference in Hg concentrations between males and females while sub-adults had significantly lower concentrations. The histological examinations of renal tissue showed glomerular capillary dilatation and basement membrane thickening, dilatation, and hyalinization of Bowman's space/capsule and tubular lesions with hyaline casts accompanied by interstitial fibrosis in the kidneys. In liver tissue, portal cell infiltrates and fibrosis, bile duct proliferation, lipid-filled Ito cells, and steatosis were found. There was no marked difference in histological prevalence between males and females and in Hg concentrations in individuals with or without lesions. Four of seven renal lesions and one liver lesion were found in the two sub-adult whales. Based upon these findings, as well as the nature of the lesions, evidence suggests that histopathological alterations were a result of age but that Hg might be an aggravating co-factor in development of renal lesions in particular.     

Mercury pollution in the Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh,India, and its health impacts

The Sonbhadra district in the Singrauli area of Uttar Pradesh, India, has many coal mines and thermal power plants and is a critically polluted area. Many residents of this area reported adverse health conditions which may be linked to metal pollution, especially of mercury investigated here.

In May 2012, samples of water (23), soil (7), blood, hair, and nails from persons showing adverse health conditions selected at random were collected and analyzed for total mercury by atomic absorption spectrometry.

Twenty percent drinking water samples contained mercury from 3 to 26 μg L^?1 (3–26 times the permissible limit). Soil samples had 0.5–10.1 mg kg^?1 Hg.

The average concentrations of mercury in human blood, hair, and nails were found to be 34 μg L^?1, 7.4 mg kg^?1, and 0.8 mg kg^?1, respectively. Mercury concentrations in the blood of these persons were 45 and 28 μg L^?1 on average in the case of men and women. This is much higher than the safe level of 5.8 μg L^?1 set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA).

It was concluded that all residents of Sonbhadra sampled could be suffering from mercury toxicity as the area is polluted by Hg released from the coal-fired thermal power plants.     

酸-碘改性壳聚糖-膨润土脱除单质汞特性及机理分析

为探明烟气中酸性气体(SO2,NO,HCl)和H2O对酸-碘改性壳聚糖-膨润土吸附剂脱除单质汞(Hg0)的影响和脱除机理,在小型固定床试验台架上开展了Hg0脱除的实验研究.结果表明:由于SO2与Hg0在吸附剂表面活性位上存在竞争吸附,SO2抑制吸附剂对Hg0的脱除.H2O和较高浓度(1000μg/m3)的NO对脱汞具有明显地促进作用.由于低温下HCl与Hg0较高的反应能垒,HCl对脱汞没有影响.与单一烟气成分影响相比,在SO2、NO、HCl和H2O的联合作用下,吸附剂的长时间脱汞性能得到大幅提高.机理分析表明壳聚糖首先被酸中的H+质子化,之后再吸附酸与KI反应生成的I2,进而有效地吸附Hg0.量子化学计算表明壳聚糖在酸性条件下对I2具有良好的吸附特性,改性壳聚糖吸附剂对Hg0具有较好的吸附能力,其吸附能约为127kJ/mol.     

含荧光素酶四膜虫B2086-LUC全细胞生物传感器的构建及其对重金属离子的响应

为了获得可用于快速检测环境中重金属污染的全细胞生物传感器,本研究将含有HA标签的萤火虫荧光素酶(LUC)基因重组到含有四膜虫金属硫蛋白MTT1启动子和微管蛋白终止子序列的载体pBX中,获得重组质粒pBX-LUC,用基因枪粒子轰击法将pBX-LUC转化入四膜虫细胞中,通过同源重组和巴龙霉素抗性筛选, LUC基因整合到四膜虫大核基因组MTT1 位点,获得含有LUC基因的细胞株B2086-LUC. B2086-LUC对重金属镉和汞的响应敏感,可检测的最低浓度为5~10ng/mL;对铜和锌的响应较弱,可检测的最低浓度为0.5~ 1mg/mL.因此,四膜虫B2086-LUC可作为环境中镉和汞污染快速检测的全细胞生物传感器.     

Assessment of potentially toxic elements in Swiss chard and sediments of Akaki River,Ethiopia

For the determination of 15 potentially toxic elements (V, Cr, Fe, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Ag, Cd, Sn, Hg, and Pb) in plant and sediment samples of the Akaki River, Ethiopia, inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry, inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometry, and a RA-915+ mercury analyzer were applied. Sediment and plant samples were mineralized using a closed-vessel microwave-assisted digestion system. The elemental concentrations varied considerably in plant and sediment samples. The minimum concentration was observed for known toxic elements (As, Hg, and Cd) while the highest concentration was observed for the elements of relatively low toxicity Zn, Mn, and Fe. The concentration of Cr, Fe, Pb, Zn, and As in Swiss chard surpassed the maximum permissible levels at specific sites. At some of the sites, the sediment quality guidelines are surpassed for Cu, Zn, and Pb.     

Large plasmids governing multiple resistances to heavy metals: A genetic approach∗

Gram negative bacteria classified as Alcaligenes eutrophus and carrying large resistance plasmids (generally two) were found in various industrial sites highly contaminated by heavy metals (Zn⁺⁺, Cu⁺⁺, Co⁺⁺,...). These strains were detected by DNA hybridization with a probe made with a 9kb fragment (ccz⁺ fragment) encoding for resistances to Cd⁺⁺, Co⁺⁺ and Zn⁺⁺, and cloned from plasmid pMOL30. This plasmid was isolated from the representative strain A. eutrophus CH34 which harbours the plasmids pMOL30 (240 kb) and pMOL28 (165 kb). Phenotypes related to pMOL28 and pMOL30 include the tolerance to Cd⁺⁺, Co⁺⁺, Cr0₄ ⁼, Cu⁺⁺, Hg⁺⁺, Ni⁺⁺, Pb⁺⁺ and Zn⁺⁺. The described genetic properties of these plasmids refer to some cloned or mapped functions and to some plasmid rearrangements. Plasmid pMOL85 (250 kb) which is related to pMOL30 was also described. Its host (A. eutrophus DS185) was isolated from a zinc desert. pMOL85 can efficiently self transfer in plasmidfree derivatives.     

1980—2007年我国燃煤大气汞、铅、砷排放趋势分析

基于文献调研,对1980—2007年我国汞、铅、砷3种主要燃煤大气重金属排放清单进行归纳,计算了3种重金属的逐年平均排放量,并分析排放量与燃煤量的相关性、单位煤耗大气重金属污染物排放量的变化趋势及原因. 结果表明:1980—2007年我国燃煤大气汞、铅、砷排放量与燃煤量增长趋势基本一致,均呈显著正相关(R2分别为0.911、0.971、0.996),但燃煤大气汞排放量与燃煤量间的相关性却比铅、砷排放量与燃煤量的相关性小很多,这主要是燃煤电厂对汞协同脱除能力比对铅、砷强,以及电厂汞排放所占比例较大所致. 燃煤大气汞排放量在2005年后趋于稳定,而铅、砷排放量在2000年后快速增长,年均增速均超过10%,其中电厂和工业锅炉是重金属排放的重点行业. 在燃煤量不断增长的背景下,单位煤耗的大气汞、铅排放量均呈下降趋势,其中汞排放量在2005—2007年年均降低5.0%,铅排放量在1996—2007年年均降低1.7%. 这与我国主要燃煤行业除尘、脱硫、脱硝等大气污染控制装置对重金属的协同脱除能力不断增强有密切关系.      

基于国内实测燃煤电厂烟气汞排放估算的不确定度

参照测量不确定度评定与表示的国家技术规范,基于近年来我国燃煤电厂常规污控设备协同脱汞的现场测试数据(文献报道和实测值)及各省原煤w(汞)的实测值,初步构建了国内燃煤电厂烟气汞排放不确定度的计算方法,并以2010年的燃煤量、污控方式布局为基础,计算了该年度汞排放的不确定度. 结果表明:2010年我国燃煤电厂烟气汞排放的总不确定度为48.8t,占平均排放总量的34.3%;其中60.2%源于污控设备脱汞效率的不确定度,39.8%源于原煤w(汞)的不确定度;采用ESP(静电除尘)、ESP+WFGD(静电除尘+湿法脱硫)、SCR+ESP+WFGD(选择性催化还原脱硝+静电除尘+湿法脱硫)和FF(袋式除尘)大气污控组合的机组各存在6.0、32.2、9.7和0.9t的烟气汞排放不确定度,分别占各对应机组烟气汞排放量的19.3%、32.8%、84.6%和53.6%,其中SCR+ESP+WFGD污控组合烟气汞排放的相对不确定度最大. 随着我国烟气脱硝工作全面推行,2015年以后,SCR+ESP+WFGD污控措施(组合)的机组所占比例将会提高到66%以上,如果仍以现有数据为基础,则来自SCR+ESP+WFGD污控措施(组合)机组的烟气汞排放不确定度将会大幅增加,因此急需增加对该类装置脱汞效率的实测样本数量.