Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Environ Toxicol Chem. 2014 Jun;33(6):1248-58. doi: 10.1002/etc.2375. Epub 2014 Apr 25.
The risk assessment of mercury (Hg), in both humans and wildlife, is made challenging by great variability in exposure and health effects. Although disease risk arises following complex interactions between genetic ("nature") and environmental ("nurture") factors, most Hg studies thus far have focused solely on environmental factors. In recent years, ecogenetic-based studies have emerged and have started to document genetic and epigenetic factors that may indeed influence the toxicokinetics or toxicodynamics of Hg. The present study reviews these studies and discusses their utility in terms of Hg risk assessment, management, and policy and offers perspectives on fruitful areas for future research. In brief, epidemiological studies on populations exposed to inorganic Hg (e.g., dentists and miners) or methylmercury (e.g., fish consumers) are showing that polymorphisms in a number of environmentally responsive genes can explain variations in Hg biomarker values and health outcomes. Studies on mammals (wildlife, humans, rodents) are showing Hg exposures to be related to epigenetic marks such as DNA methylation. Such findings are beginning to increase understanding of the mechanisms of action of Hg, and in doing so they may help identify candidate biomarkers and pinpoint susceptible groups or life stages. Furthermore, they may help refine uncertainty factors and thus lead to more accurate risk assessments and improved decision-making.
汞（Hg）对人类和野生动物的风险评估受到暴露和健康影响的巨大变异性的挑战。尽管疾病风险是在遗传（“天性”）和环境（“教养”）因素之间复杂相互作用的基础上产生的，但迄今为止，大多数 Hg 研究仅关注环境因素。近年来，基于生态遗传学的研究已经出现，并开始记录可能确实影响 Hg 毒代动力学或毒效动力学的遗传和表观遗传因素。本研究回顾了这些研究，并讨论了它们在 Hg 风险评估、管理和政策方面的应用，并对未来研究的有成果领域提出了展望。简而言之，暴露于无机汞（例如牙医和矿工）或甲基汞（例如鱼类消费者）的人群的流行病学研究表明，许多对环境有反应的基因中的多态性可以解释 Hg 生物标志物值和健康结果的变化。对哺乳动物（野生动物、人类、啮齿动物）的研究表明，Hg 暴露与 DNA 甲基化等表观遗传标记有关。这些发现开始增加对 Hg 作用机制的理解，并且在这样做的过程中，它们可能有助于确定候选生物标志物并确定易感群体或生命阶段。此外，它们可能有助于细化不确定性因素，从而导致更准确的风险评估和改进决策。
