College of Health, Oregon State University, 103 Milam Hall, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA.
Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Environ Sci Process Impacts. 2024 Nov 13;26(11):1975-1985. doi: 10.1039/d4em00231h.
. Fish and rice are the main dietary sources of methylmercury (MeHg); however, rice does not contain the same beneficial nutrients as fish, and these differences can impact the observed health effects of MeHg. Hence, it is important to validate a biomarker, which can distinguish among dietary MeHg sources. . Mercury (Hg) stable isotopes were analyzed in hair samples from peripartum mothers in China ( = 265). Associations between mass dependent fractionation (MDF) (Hg) and mass independent fractionation (MIF) (Hg) (dependent variables) and dietary MeHg intake (independent variable) were investigated using multivariable regression models. . In adjusted models, hair Hg was positively correlated with serum omega-3 fatty acids (a biomarker for fish consumption) and negatively correlated with maternal rice MeHg intake, indicating MIF recorded in hair can be used to distinguish MeHg intake predominantly from fish rice. Conversely, in adjusted models, hair Hg was not correlated with measures of dietary measures of MeHg intake. Instead, hair Hg was strongly, negatively correlated with hair Hg, which explained 27-29% of the variability in hair Hg. . Our results indicated that hair Hg can be used to distinguish MeHg intake from fish rice. Results also suggested that lighter isotopes were preferentially accumulated in hair, potentially reflecting Hg binding to thiols (, cysteine); however, more research is needed to elucidate this hypothesis. Broader impacts include 1) validation of a non-invasive biomarker to distinguish MeHg intake from rice fish, and 2) the potential to use Hg isotopes to investigate Hg binding in tissues.
鱼类和米饭是甲基汞（MeHg）的主要膳食来源；然而，米饭不含与鱼类相同的有益营养物质，这些差异会影响到观察到的 MeHg 健康效应。因此，验证一种能够区分膳食 MeHg 来源的生物标志物非常重要。本研究分析了来自中国围产期母亲的头发样本中的汞（Hg）稳定同位素（n=265）。采用多元回归模型研究了质量依赖分馏（MDF）（Hg）和质量独立分馏（MIF）（Hg）（因变量）与膳食 MeHg 摄入量（自变量）之间的关系。在调整后的模型中，头发中的 Hg 与血清中 ω-3 脂肪酸（鱼类消费的生物标志物）呈正相关，与母体大米中 MeHg 的摄入量呈负相关，这表明头发中记录的 MIF 可用于区分主要来自鱼类和大米的 MeHg 摄入量。相反，在调整后的模型中，头发中的 Hg 与膳食 MeHg 摄入量的衡量指标不相关。相反，头发中的 Hg 与头发中的 Hg 呈强烈负相关，解释了头发中 Hg 变异性的 27-29%。我们的结果表明，头发中的 Hg 可用于区分 MeHg 摄入来自鱼类和大米。结果还表明，较轻的同位素优先在头发中积累，这可能反映了 Hg 与硫醇（如半胱氨酸）结合；然而，需要进一步的研究来阐明这一假设。更广泛的影响包括 1）验证一种非侵入性生物标志物，以区分来自大米和鱼类的 MeHg 摄入，以及 2）利用 Hg 同位素来研究组织中的 Hg 结合。
