Ynalvez Ruby, Gutierrez Jose, Gonzalez-Cantu Hector
Department of Biology and Chemistry, Texas A&M International University, 5201 University Blvd., Laredo, TX, 78041, USA.
Biometals. 2016 Oct;29(5):781-8. doi: 10.1007/s10534-016-9967-8. Epub 2016 Sep 3.
Mercury, in both its elemental and bonded states, is noted for its negative effects on biological organisms. Recent anthropogenic and environmental disasters have spurred numerous comparative studies. These studies attempted to detail the biochemical implications of mercury ingestion, in low, persistent concentrations as well as elevated acute dosages. The studies propose models for mercuric action on healthy cells; which is centered on the element's disruption of key enzymatic processes at deposition sites. Mercury's high affinity for the sulfhydryl moieties of enzyme catalytic sites is a common motif for enzyme inactivation. These permanent covalent modifications inactivate the enzyme, thereby inducing devastating effects on an organism's metabolic functions. Mercury has been shown to be highly nonspecific in its binding to sulfhydryl moieties, and highly varied in terms of how it is encountered by living organisms. This review focuses on mercury's effects on a wide swath of enzymes, with emphasis on how these alterations deleteriously affect several metabolic pathways.
汞，无论是元素汞还是结合态汞，都因其对生物有机体的负面影响而闻名。近期的人为和环境灾难引发了大量的比较研究。这些研究试图详细阐述低浓度、持续摄入汞以及高剂量急性摄入汞的生化影响。这些研究提出了汞对健康细胞作用的模型；该模型以汞在沉积部位对关键酶促过程的破坏为核心。汞对酶催化位点的巯基部分具有高亲和力，这是酶失活的常见模式。这些永久性的共价修饰使酶失活，从而对生物体的代谢功能产生毁灭性影响。研究表明，汞与巯基部分的结合具有高度非特异性，并且生物体接触汞的方式也多种多样。本综述重点关注汞对多种酶的影响，尤其强调这些改变如何对多个代谢途径产生有害影响。
