TY - JOUR
T1 - Correlations between mercury concentrations in umbilical cord tissue and other biomarkers of fetal exposure to methylmercury in the Japanese population
AU - Sakamoto, Mineshi
AU - Kaneoka, Tsuyoshi
AU - Murata, Katsuyuki
AU - Nakai, Kunihiko
AU - Satoh, Hiroshi
AU - Akagi, Hirokatsu
N1 - Funding Information:
A part of this work was supported by a grant for Comprehensive Research of Minamata Disease from the Ministry of Environment, Japan.
PY - 2007/1
Y1 - 2007/1
N2 - Methylmercury (MeHg) is one of the most risky substances to affect humans through fish consumption, and the fetus is known to be in the most susceptible group. Our objective in this study is to examine the relationships of total mercury (THg) and MeHg concentrations between umbilical cord tissue and other tissues as biomarkers of fetal exposure to MeHg in the Japanese population. In total, 116 paired samples were collected in three Japanese districts, the Tsushima Islands, Fukuoka City, and Katsushika ward of metropolitan Tokyo. THg was measured for hair and THg and MeHg were measured in cord tissues, maternal blood, and cord blood. The relationships among tissues in Hg concentrations were similar among districts. Therefore, we analyzed the relationships using all the samples. More than 90% of Hg in cord tissue, cord blood, and maternal blood was MeHg. THg and MeHg in cord blood was about two times higher than in maternal blood. A strong correlation was found between THg and MeHg in cord tissue. The cord tissue THg and MeHg showed a strong correlation with cord blood Hg, which is recognized as the best biomarker for fetal exposure to MeHg. The findings of this study indicate the significance of cord tissue THg and MeHg as biomarkers for fetal exposure to MeHg at parturition.
AB - Methylmercury (MeHg) is one of the most risky substances to affect humans through fish consumption, and the fetus is known to be in the most susceptible group. Our objective in this study is to examine the relationships of total mercury (THg) and MeHg concentrations between umbilical cord tissue and other tissues as biomarkers of fetal exposure to MeHg in the Japanese population. In total, 116 paired samples were collected in three Japanese districts, the Tsushima Islands, Fukuoka City, and Katsushika ward of metropolitan Tokyo. THg was measured for hair and THg and MeHg were measured in cord tissues, maternal blood, and cord blood. The relationships among tissues in Hg concentrations were similar among districts. Therefore, we analyzed the relationships using all the samples. More than 90% of Hg in cord tissue, cord blood, and maternal blood was MeHg. THg and MeHg in cord blood was about two times higher than in maternal blood. A strong correlation was found between THg and MeHg in cord tissue. The cord tissue THg and MeHg showed a strong correlation with cord blood Hg, which is recognized as the best biomarker for fetal exposure to MeHg. The findings of this study indicate the significance of cord tissue THg and MeHg as biomarkers for fetal exposure to MeHg at parturition.
KW - Biomarkers
KW - Exposure
KW - Fetus
KW - Hair
KW - Maternal blood
KW - Mercury
KW - Methylmercury
KW - Parturition
KW - Umbilical cord blood
KW - Umbilical cord tissue
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U2 - 10.1016/j.envres.2006.03.004
DO - 10.1016/j.envres.2006.03.004
M3 - Article
C2 - 16650842
AN - SCOPUS:33845435258
SN - 0013-9351
VL - 103
SP - 106
EP - 111
JO - Environmental Research
JF - Environmental Research
IS - 1
ER -