Serum levels of inflammatory cytokines in mercury mining workers in a precarious situation: A preliminary study.

Autor: Saldaña-Villanueva K; Coordinación Para la Innovación y la Aplicación de la Ciencia y la Tecnología (CIACyT), Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, México., González-Palomo AK; Coordinación Para la Innovación y la Aplicación de la Ciencia y la Tecnología (CIACyT), Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, México., Méndez-Rodríguez KB; Coordinación Para la Innovación y la Aplicación de la Ciencia y la Tecnología (CIACyT), Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, México., Gavilán-García A; Instituto Nacional de Ecología y Cambio Climático, Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, Ciudad de México, México., Benítez-Arvizu G; Banco de Sangre Unidad Médica de Alta Especialidad (UMAE), Hospital de Especialidades Centro Medico Nacional Siglo XXI, Ciudad de México, México., Diaz-Barriga F; Coordinación Para la Innovación y la Aplicación de la Ciencia y la Tecnología (CIACyT), Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, México., Alcantara-Quintana L; Coordinación Para la Innovación y la Aplicación de la Ciencia y la Tecnología (CIACyT), Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, México., Pérez-Vázquez FJ; Coordinación Para la Innovación y la Aplicación de la Ciencia y la Tecnología (CIACyT), Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, México.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Toxicology and industrial health [Toxicol Ind Health] 2024 Mar; Vol. 40 (3), pp. 134-143. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jan 30.
DOI: 10.1177/07482337241229471
Abstrakt: Mercury is a ubiquitous environmental xenobiotic; the primary sources of exposure to this metal are artisanal gold mining and the direct production of mercury. In Mexico, artisanal mercury mining continues to be an important activity in different regions of the country. Exposure to mercury vapors releases can have severe health impacts, including immunotoxic effects such as alterations in cytokine profiling. Therefore, in the present work, we evaluated the inflammatory cytokines profile in the blood serum of miners exposed to mercury. A cross-sectional observational study was performed on 27 mining workers (exposed group) and 20 control subjects (nonexposed group) from central Mexico. The mercury urine concentration (U-Hg) was determined by atomic absorption spectrometry, and IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and TNF-α were measured using a Multiplex Assay. The results showed that the U-Hg in the miners had a median value of 552.70 μg/g creatinine. All cytokines showed a significant increase in the miner group compared with the control group, except for TNF-α. In addition, we observed a positive correlation between U-Hg concentration and cytokine levels. In conclusion, mercury exposure correlated with cytokine levels (considered acute inflammatory marker) in miners; therefore, workers exposed to this metal show an acute systemic inflammation that could lead to alterations in other organs and systems.
Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Databáze: MEDLINE