title: The influence of long-term mercury exposure on selenium availability in tissues: an evaluation of data.
abstract: The precise mechanisms of mercury accumulation and retention are still unclear. Generally, the association of mercury with selenium is used to explain these phenomena. It seems that the presence of coaccumulated endogenous Se can protect cells from the harmful effects of Hg. However, as speculated by some authors, this binding of Se to Hg can also result in a relative deficiency of biologically available Se needed for selenoenzyme syntheses. Deriving from the assumption that Hg deposited in tissues is bound to Se in a 1:1 ratio, the quantity of non-Hg bound Se could be calculated by the difference between the molar contents of the two elements (Se(mol)-Hg(mol)). In this study we applied such an approach to the data from our previous investigation, where Hg and Se concentrations were determined in autopsy samples of mercury exposed retired Idrija mercury mine workers, Idrija residents living in a Hg contaminated environment and a control group with no known Hg exposure from the environment. Based on these data we tried to estimate the influence of Hg exposure on the physiologically available selenium content in selected tissues, particularly endocrine glands and brain tissues. Comparing the calculated values of (Se(mol)- Hg(mol)) it was found that for Idrija residents the values were similar to those of the control group and as expected, diminished values were found in some mercury-loaded organs of retired Idrija miners. It could be speculated that in Idrija residents Hg sequestration of selenium is sufficiently compensated by increased Se levels, but that particularly in active miners and in some organs of retired miners, the activity and/or synthesis of selenoenzymes could be disturbed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Sciences, Jozef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, Ljubljana 1111, Slovenia. ingrid.falnoga@ijs.si
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Falnoga
authors.forename: Magda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tusek-Znidaric
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Stegnar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001344:Autopsy; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D007672:Kidney Cortex / Q000737:chemistry; D008297:Male; D008526:Medulla Oblongata / Q000737:chemistry; D008628:Mercury / Q000378:metabolism; D008630:Mercury Poisoning / Q000378:metabolism*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012643:Selenium / Q000378:metabolism*; D017524:Slovenia; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000737:chemistry; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D008628:Mercury; D012643:Selenium