Poniedziałek Barbara, Perek Bartłomiej, Proch Aleksandra, Misterski Marcin, Komosa Anna, Niedzielski Przemysław, Fal Andrzej, Jemielity Marek, Rzymski Piotr
Department of Environmental Medicine, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 60-806 Poznań, Poland.
First Department of Cardiac Surgery and Transplantology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 61-848 Poznań, Poland.
J Clin Med. 2025 Apr 22;14(9):2891. doi: 10.3390/jcm14092891.
Rare earth elements (REEs) are emerging environmental pollutants, with human exposure increasing due to recent industrial and technological activities. While most studies have focused on detecting REEs in human fluids, their presence in tissues remains understudied. Aortic valve degeneration is known to facilitate the adsorption of various chemical elements; however, the occurrence of REEs in human valves has not yet been investigated. This exploratory study aimed to determine the presence of REEs in the aortic valves of patients with aortic stenosis undergoing surgical valve replacement. It also analyzed potential correlations between REE levels in the valves, epicardial adipose tissue, serum, and selected disease markers. Samples of aortic valve, epicardial adipose tissue, and serum were collected from 20 adult patients undergoing elective aortic valve replacement. The concentrations of 14 REEs in these samples were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Biochemical and clinical parameters of the patients were also considered to explore potential associations with the determined REE levels. Total REEs, heavy REEs, and light REEs in aortic valves, epicardial fat, and serum were not intercorrelated. Moreover, for any sample type, they were not significantly related to the patient's demographics (age and sex), clinical characteristics (body mass index, heart failure severity, and systolic pressure gradients), kidney function (estimated glomerular filtration rate), and biochemical markers (creatinine, lipoprotein(a), total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, and fibrinogen). Smoking was the only factor influencing REE burden in studied patients, with active smokers revealing 61% higher serum REE concentrations and past smokers exhibiting 133% higher REE valvular deposition. The findings suggest that REE accumulation in aortic valve tissues occurs independently of systemic and clinical parameters but may be promoted by smoking, highlighting the need to investigate the underlying mechanisms of REE deposition. Given the small sample size and the cross-sectional, hypothesis-generating design, these observations should be interpreted with caution and treated as preliminary. Larger, longitudinal studies are needed to validate these results and explore potential causal relationships. Further research should also include the tissue originating from individuals without aortic stenosis for comparison. A deeper understanding of the pathways and health risks associated with REEs in cardiovascular tissues may offer valuable insights into their broader implications for human health.
稀土元素（REEs）正成为环境污染物，由于近期的工业和技术活动，人类接触这些元素的情况在增加。虽然大多数研究集中于检测人体体液中的稀土元素，但它们在组织中的存在情况仍研究不足。已知主动脉瓣退变会促进各种化学元素的吸附；然而，人体瓣膜中稀土元素的存在情况尚未得到研究。这项探索性研究旨在确定接受外科瓣膜置换的主动脉瓣狭窄患者的主动脉瓣中稀土元素的存在情况。它还分析了瓣膜、心外膜脂肪组织、血清中的稀土元素水平与选定疾病标志物之间的潜在相关性。从20名接受择期主动脉瓣置换的成年患者身上采集了主动脉瓣、心外膜脂肪组织和血清样本。使用电感耦合等离子体质谱法测量这些样本中14种稀土元素的浓度。还考虑了患者的生化和临床参数，以探索与所测定的稀土元素水平的潜在关联。主动脉瓣、心外膜脂肪和血清中的总稀土元素、重稀土元素和轻稀土元素之间没有相互关联。此外，对于任何样本类型，它们与患者的人口统计学特征（年龄和性别）、临床特征（体重指数、心力衰竭严重程度和收缩压梯度）、肾功能（估计肾小球滤过率）以及生化标志物（肌酐、脂蛋白(a)、总胆固醇、高密度脂蛋白、低密度脂蛋白和纤维蛋白原）均无显著关联。吸烟是影响所研究患者稀土元素负荷的唯一因素，现吸烟者的血清稀土元素浓度高出61%，既往吸烟者的瓣膜稀土元素沉积高出133%。研究结果表明，主动脉瓣组织中的稀土元素积累独立于全身和临床参数，但可能因吸烟而加剧，这突出了研究稀土元素沉积潜在机制的必要性。鉴于样本量小且采用横断面、产生假设的设计，这些观察结果应谨慎解释并视为初步结果。需要开展更大规模的纵向研究来验证这些结果并探索潜在的因果关系。进一步的研究还应纳入无主动脉瓣狭窄个体的组织进行比较。更深入地了解心血管组织中稀土元素的相关途径和健康风险，可能为其对人类健康的更广泛影响提供有价值的见解。
