Effects of Lead and Mercury on the Blood Proteome of Children

Abstract

Heavy metal exposure in children has been associated with a variety of physiological and neurological problems. The goal of this study was to utilize proteomics to enhance the understanding of biochemical interactions responsible for the health problems related to lead and mercury exposure at concentrations well below CDC guidelines. Blood plasma and serum samples from 34 children were depleted of their most abundant proteins using antibody-based affinity columns and analyzed using two different methods, LC-MS/MS and 2-D electrophoresis coupled with MALDI-TOF/MS and tandem mass spectrometry. Apolipoprotein E demonstrated an inverse significant association with lead concentrations (average being one microgram/deciliter) as deduced from LC-MS/MS and 2-D electrophoresis and confirmed by Western blot analysis. This coincides with prior findings that Apolipoprotein E genotype moderates neurobehavioral effects in individuals exposed to lead. Fifteen other proteins were identified by LC-MS/MS as proteins of interest exhibiting expressional differences in the presence of environmental lead and mercury.

Trace elements and endometriosis: The ENDO Study

“…Cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and total Hg were determined in blood by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) [33]using methods optimized and validated for biomonitoring purposes of each as described elsewhere [34;35]]. A PerkinElmer Sciex ELAN DRC Plus ICP-MS (PerkinElmer Life and Analytical Sciences, Shelton, CT, USA) instrument equipped with a Burgener Teflon MiraMist ® nebulizer (Burgener Research Inc., Mississauga, ON, Canada) and a Cinnabar spray-chamber (Glass Expansion, West Melbourne, VIC, Australia), and operated in standard mode was used for all blood metal measurements.…”

Fish consumption, low-level mercury, lipids, and inflammatory markers in children

“…For those samples with sufficient serum ( N = 95), proteomic analysis was performed as described earlier (Birdsall et al 2010), with some changes. Briefly, blood was collected using Vacutainers (BD Vacutainer K2, REF 367856), centrifuged to remove any cellular debris, and stored in Protein LoBind microcentrifuge tubes (Brinkmann Instruments) at −80°C until further analysis.…”

“…Mascot version 2.1.3 was used to search against Homo sapiens in the Swiss-Prot database using appropriate parameters (Birdsall et al 2010). The quantitative analysis of proteins was carried out using the spectral count method (Liu et al 2004; Lundgren et al 2010).…”

Application of classic epidemiological studies and proteomics in research of occupational and environmental exposure to lead, cadmium and arsenic

“…However, proteomic analysis is currently used to study effects of exposure to heavy metals on human health only to a small extent. The works of Hegedus et al (2008), Harezlak et al (2008), Zhai et al (2005), Birdsall et al (2010), and Kossowska et al (2010) clearly indicate the need to apply proteomic techniques to search for new protein markers of environmental and occupational exposure to heavy metals.…”

“…Some interesting studies concentrated on understanding biochemical interactions responsible for the health problems related to lead and mercury exposure were carried out by Birdsall et al (2010). The approach is somewhat different from many other studies, in that there was no control group.…”