Pontifical Catholic University of Goiás (PUC), Goiânia, GO, Brazil.
Institute of Biosciences, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu, Brazil.
Biol Trace Elem Res. 2018 Feb;181(2):216-226. doi: 10.1007/s12011-017-1057-4. Epub 2017 May 25.
Mercury is a potentially toxic element that is present in the environment of the Brazilian Amazon and is responsible for adverse health effects in humans. This study sought to assess possible protein biomarkers of mercury exposure in breast milk samples from lactating women in the Madeira and Negro Rivers in the Brazilian Amazon. The mercury content of hair samples of lactating women was determined, and the proteome of breast milk samples was obtained using two-dimensional electrophoresis after protein precipitation with acetone. Mercury measurements of protein spots obtained via protein fractionation were performed by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS), and it was observed that mercury is linked to proteins with molecular masses in the range of 14-26 kDa. The total mercury concentration was also determined by GFAAS in unprocessed milk, lyophilized milk, and protein pellets, with the purpose of determining the mercury mass balance in relation to the concentration of this element in milk and pellets. Approximately 85 to 97% of mercury present in the lyophilized milk from samples of lactating women of the Madeira River is bound in the protein fraction. From lactating women of the Negro River, approximately 49% of the total mercury is bound in the protein fraction, and a difference of 51% is bound in the lipid fraction.
汞是一种潜在的有毒元素，存在于巴西亚马逊地区的环境中，会对人类健康产生不良影响。本研究旨在评估哺乳期妇女母乳样本中汞暴露的可能蛋白质生物标志物。测定了哺乳期妇女头发样本中的汞含量，并用丙酮沉淀蛋白质后，采用二维电泳获得了母乳样本的蛋白质组。通过石墨炉原子吸收光谱法（GFAAS）对蛋白质分级获得的蛋白质斑点进行了汞测量，结果表明汞与分子量在 14-26 kDa 范围内的蛋白质有关。还通过 GFAAS 测定了未经处理的奶、冻干奶和蛋白质沉淀中的总汞浓度，目的是确定与奶和沉淀中该元素浓度相关的汞质量平衡。在来自 Madeira 河哺乳期妇女的冻干奶中，约 85%至 97%的汞存在于蛋白质部分。在来自 Negro 河的哺乳期妇女中，约 49%的总汞存在于蛋白质部分，而 51%的总汞存在于脂质部分。
