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Trace elements within the brain are important for proper neurological function, but their imbalance has been rarely investigated in glioblastoma. This study enrolled a total of 14 patients with glioblastoma, and the tumor and peritumoral brain tissues were collected while undergoing surgery. The concentrations of Mg, Ca, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Cu, Zn, Se, As, Cd, Tl and Pb were determined using a well-evaluated ICP-MS method. The Cu- and Cd-binding proteomes were further analyzed using the anatomic transcriptional atlas from Ivy GAP. Histological evaluation was based on rubeanic acid staining and immunohistochemistry, respectively. The 13 trace element concentrations were obtained, and the highest were Ca, Mn, Fe, Zn and Cu, ranging from a few to dozens of ug/g. Correlation analysis suggested the existence of two intra-correlated clusters: essential metals (Cu-Ca-Zn-Mg) and heavy metals (Pb-As-Cd-Tl-Co-Cr-Mn). Compared to the tumor samples, significantly higher levels of Cu and Cd were observed in the peritumoral region. Further analysis of the Cu- and Cd-binding proteins from the anatomic view suggested that DBH and NOS1 were obviously increased in the leading edge than the central tumor region. Consistent with the above findings, histological evaluation of Cu and DBH further confirmed more copper and DBH expressions in the peritumoral area compared to the tumor core. Trace elements differ in tumor and peritumoral brain zone in glioblastoma, which may associate with tumor angiogenesis., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Society for Biological Inorganic Chemistry (SBIC).)

Exposures to toxic trace elements and deficiencies of essential elements during pregnancy are associated to various birth complications. Assessment of the trace elements in pregnant women living in specific areas is important for biomonitoring. A total of 196 healthy pregnant women absent of pregnancy complications living in Wuhan of China and 210 healthy non-pregnant women were enrolled. The whole blood were collected. The toxic element chromium (Cr), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), thallium (Tl), and lead (Pb) and essential elements magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) were determined by using a inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)-based method. All the metal(loid)s, except for Cd, Hg, and Tl, showed different levels in whole blood of the pregnant women compared with the non-pregnant women (p < 0.05), among which Mg, Fe, As, and Pb were lower while Ca, Cr, Mn, Cu, and Zn were higher. Moreover, whole blood levels of Mg, Mn, Fe, Cu, and Zn showed significant variations among different gestational ages, while As and Cd showed significant variations among different maternal ages. In addition, Fe-Mg, Fe-Zn, Cu-Ca, and Hg-As were found to be correlated positively in whole blood of the pregnant women, while Fe-Ca, Zn-Ca, and Fe-Cu were correlated negatively. The systematic information of toxic and essential elements in whole blood of pregnant women living in Wuhan of China can provide important guidance for the supplementation of essential elements during pregnancy and for biomonitoring of environmental overexposure.

Background: The dynamics of urinary trace elements in patients with COVID-19 still remains to be investigated., Methods: A retrospective study was performed on a cohort of 138 confirmed COVID-19 patients for their urinary levels of essential and/or toxic metals including chromium, manganese, copper, arsenic, selenium, cadmium, mercury, thallium and lead according to the different disease severity (severe or non-severe) and outcome (recovered or deceased)., Results: Urinary concentrations of chromium, manganese, copper, selenium, cadmium, mercury and lead after creatinine adjustment were found to be higher in severe patients than the non-severe cases with COVID-19. And among the severe cases, these elements were also higher in the deceased group than the recovered group. When the weeks of the post-symptom onset were taken in account, the changes of these urinary elements were existed across the clinical course since the disease onset. These urinary elements were found to be mostly positively inter-correlated, and further positively correlated with other laboratory inflammatory parameters including serum cytokines (IL-1B, IL2R, IL6, IL8, IL10, TNFα), ferritin, and neutrophil count and white blood cell count. As a independently predictive factor, urinary creatinine-adjusted copper of ≥25.57 μg/g and ≥99.32 μg/g were associated with significantly increased risk of severe illness and fatal outcome in COVID-19, respectively., Conclusions: These results suggest abnormities in urinary levels of the trace metals were tightly associated with the severe illness and fatal outcome of COVID-19., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Trace element distribution in the human body varies across regions and countries due to their different living environment and lifestyle. Thus, it is of great significance to investigate the reference level of trace element in a specific population. Wuhan is the largest metropolitan area in central China with highly developed heavy industries. This study aimed at determining the reference urinary distribution in general populations of Wuhan for nine trace elements (Cr, Mn, Cu, As, Se, Cd, Hg, Tl, Pb), and analyzed their associations with age, sex, and the kidney function. In total, 226 healthy adults not exposed to these trace elements were recruited, and the first-morning urine specimens were analyzed by using ICP-MS-based method. Our results showed higher urinary levels for As and Cd in Wuhan population when compared with other countries, while other element levels were almost equivalent. Sex difference existed for urinary Cu, Mn, As, Tl, and Pb. And urinary Cd, Tl, and Pb levels were associated with the glomerular filtration rate. Almost all these urinary elements showed significant inter-correlations, especially for Cu but except for Mn. This study provides systematic information regarding urinary trace element levels in residents of Wuhan in central China, and shall be of importance for future environmental and occupational biomonitoring.