Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Metalloproteomics Approach to Analyze Mercury in Breast Milk and Hair Samples of Lactating Women in Communities of the Amazon Basin, Brazil

  • Published:
Biological Trace Element Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Mercury is a potentially toxic element that is present in the environment of the Brazilian Amazon and is responsible for adverse health effects in humans. This study sought to assess possible protein biomarkers of mercury exposure in breast milk samples from lactating women in the Madeira and Negro Rivers in the Brazilian Amazon. The mercury content of hair samples of lactating women was determined, and the proteome of breast milk samples was obtained using two-dimensional electrophoresis after protein precipitation with acetone. Mercury measurements of protein spots obtained via protein fractionation were performed by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS), and it was observed that mercury is linked to proteins with molecular masses in the range of 14–26 kDa. The total mercury concentration was also determined by GFAAS in unprocessed milk, lyophilized milk, and protein pellets, with the purpose of determining the mercury mass balance in relation to the concentration of this element in milk and pellets. Approximately 85 to 97% of mercury present in the lyophilized milk from samples of lactating women of the Madeira River is bound in the protein fraction. From lactating women of the Negro River, approximately 49% of the total mercury is bound in the protein fraction, and a difference of 51% is bound in the lipid fraction.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Bastos WR, Lacerda LD (2004) A CONTAMINAÇÃO POR MERCÚRIO NA BACIA DO RIO MADEIRA. Geochim Bras 18:99–114

    Google Scholar 

  2. Bastos WR, Rebelo MF, Fonseca MF, Almeida R, Malm O (2008) A description of mercury in fishes from the Madeira river basin, Amazon, Brazil. Acta Amazôn 38(3):431–438

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Fadini PS, Jardim WF (2001) Is the Negro River basin (Amazon) impacted by naturally occurring mercury? Sci Total Environ 275:71–82

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Santos-Francés F, García-Sánchez A, Alonso-Rojo P et al (2011) Distribution and mobility of mercury in soils of a gold mining region, Cuyuni river basin, Venezuela. J Environ Manag 92:1268–1276. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2010.12.003

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Farina M, Avila DS, da Rocha JBT, Aschner M (2013) Metals, oxidative stress and neurodegeneration: a focus on iron, manganese and mercury. Neurochem Int 62:575–594. doi:10.1016/j.neuint.2012.12.006

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Clarkson TW, Magos L (2006) The toxicology of mercury and its chemical compounds. Crit Rev Toxicol 36:609–662. doi:10.1080/10408440600845619

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Patry C, Davidson R, Lucotte M, Béliveau A (2013) Impact of forested fallows on fertility and mercury content in soils of the Tapajós River region, Brazilian Amazon. Sci Total Environ 458–460:228–237. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.04.037

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Al-Saleh I, Abduljabbar M, Al-Rouqi R et al (2013) Mercury (Hg) exposure in breast-fed infants and their mothers and the evidence of oxidative stress. Biol Trace Elem Res 153:145–154. doi:10.1007/s12011-013-9687-7

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Chao H-H, Guo C-H, Huang C-B et al (2014) Arsenic, cadmium, lead, and aluminium concentrations in human milk at early stages of lactation. Pediatr Neonatol 55:127–134. doi:10.1016/j.pedneo.2013.08.005

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. García-Esquinas E, Pérez-Gómez B, Fernández-Navarro P et al (2013) Lead, mercury and cadmium in umbilical cord blood and its association with parental epidemiological variables and birth factors. BMC Public Health 13:841. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-13-841

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Dorea JG, Marques RC, Isejima C (2012) Neurodevelopment of Amazonian infants: antenatal and postnatal exposure to methyl- and ethyl-mercury. J Biomed Biotechnol 132876:2012. doi:10.1155/2012/132876

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Bose-O’Reilly S, McCarty KM, Steckling N, Lettmeier B (2010) Mercury exposure and children’s health. Curr Probl Pediatr Adolesc Health Care 40(8):186–215. doi:10.1016/j.cppeds.2010.07.002

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. Jedrychowski W, Jankowski J, Flak E, Skarupa A, Mroz E, Sochacka-Tatara E, Lisowska-Miszczyk I (2006) Effects of prenatal exposure to mercury on cognitive and psychomotor function in one-year-old infants: epidemiologic cohort study in Poland. Ann Epidemiol 16(6):439–447. doi:10.1016/j.annepidem.2005.06.059

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Vieira SM, Almeida R, Holanda IBB, Mussy MH, Galvão RCF, Crispim PTB, Dorea JG, Bastos WR (2013) Total and methyl-mercury in hair and milk of mothers living in the city of Porto Velho and in villages along the Rio Madeira, Amazon, Brazil. Int J Hyg Environ Health 216:682–689. doi:10.1016/j.ijheh.2012.12.011

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. García-Esquinas E et al (2011) Mercury, lead and cadmium in human milk in relation to diet, lifestyle habits and sociodemographic variables in Madrid (Spain). Chemosphere 85(2):268–276. doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2011.05.029

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Yannone SM, Hartung S, Menon AL et al (2012) Metals in biology: defining metalloproteomes. Curr Opin Biotechnol 23:89–95. doi:10.1016/j.copbio.2011.11.005

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. García-Sevillano MÁ, García-Barrera T, Navarro-Roldán F et al (2014) A combination of metallomics and metabolomics studies to evaluate the effects of metal interactions in mammals. Application to Mus musculus mice under arsenic/cadmium exposure. J Proteome 104:66–79. doi:10.1016/j.jprot.2014.02.011

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Santos FA, Cavecci B, Vieira JCS et al (2015) A metalloproteomics study on the association of mercury with breast milk in samples from lactating women in the Amazon region of Brazil. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 69:223–229. doi:10.1007/s00244-015-0161-8

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Pozzi CMC, Braga CP, Vieira JCS et al (2015) Metal ions bound to the human milk immunoglobulin A: metalloproteomic approach. Food Chem 166:492–497. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2014.06.040

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Doumas BT, Bayse DD, Borner K et al (1981) A candidate reference method for determination of total protein in serum. II Test for transferability. Clin Chem 27:1651–1654

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Lima PM, Neves Rde CF, dos Santos FA et al (2010) Analytical approach to the metallomic of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) liver tissue by SRXRF and FAAS after 2D-PAGE separation: preliminary results. Talanta 82:1052–1056. doi:10.1016/j.talanta.2010.06.023

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. dos Santos FA, Lima PM, Neves RCF et al (2011) Metallomic study on plasma samples from Nile tilapia using SR-XRF and GFAAS after separation by 2D PAGE: initial results. Microchim Acta 173:43–49. doi:10.1007/s00604-010-0522-y

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Braga CP, Bittarello AC, CCF P et al (2015) Mercury fractionation in dourada (Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii) of the Madeira River in Brazil using metalloproteomic strategies. Talanta 132:239–244. doi:10.1016/j.talanta.2014.09.021

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Moraes PM, Santos FA, Cavecci B et al (2013) GFAAS determination of mercury in muscle samples of fish from Amazon, Brazil. Food Chem 141:2614–2617. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2013.05.008

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Silva FA, Neves RCF, Quintero-Pinto LG et al (2007) Determination of selenium by GFAAS in slurries of fish feces to estimate the bioavailability of this micronutrient in feed used in pisciculture. Chemosphere 68:1542–1547. doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2007.03.003

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Vieira JCS, Cavecci B, Queiroz JV et al (2015) Determination of the mercury fraction linked to protein of muscle and liver tissue of Tucunaré (Cichla spp.) from the Amazon region of Brazil. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 69:422–430. doi:10.1007/s00244-015-0160-9

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Poulin J, Gibb H (2008) In: Prüss-Üstün A (ed) Mercury: assessing the environmental burden of disease at national and local levels. World Health Organization, Geneva (WHO environmental burden of disease series no. 16)

    Google Scholar 

  28. Dórea JG, Farina M, Rocha JBT (2013) Toxicity of ethylmercury (and thimerosal): a comparison with methylmercury. J Appl Toxicol 33(8):700–711

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Faial K, Deus R, Deus S et al (2015) Mercury levels assessment in hair of riverside inhabitants of the Tapajós River, Pará state, Amazon, Brazil: fish consumption as a possible route of exposure. J Trace Elem Med Biol 30:66–76. doi:10.1016/j.jtemb.2014.10.009

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Pinheiro MCN, Farripas SSM, Oikawa T, Costa CA, Amoras WW, Vieira JLF, Silveira AJA, Lima ACM, Souza GS, Silveira LCL (2012) Temporal evolution of exposure to mercury in riverside communities in the Tapajos basin, from 1994 to 2010. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 89:119–124

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Pirard C, Koppen G, De Cremer K et al (2014) Hair mercury and urinary cadmium levels in Belgian children and their mothers within the framework of the COPHES/DEMOCOPHES projects. Sci Total Environ 472:730–740. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.11.028

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Rocha AV, Cardoso BR, Cominetti C, Bueno RB, De Bortoli MC, Farias LA, Favaro DIT, Camargo LMA, Cozzolino SMF (2014) Selenium status and hair mercury levels in riverine children from Rondônia, Amazônia. Nutrition 30(11–12):1318–1323

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Lebel J, Mergler D, Branches F et al (1998) Neurotoxic effects of low-level methylmercury contamination in the Amazonian basin. Environ Res 79:20–32. doi:10.1006/enrs.1998.3846

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Amorim MI, Mergler D, Bahia MO et al (2000) Cytogenetic damage related to low levels of methyl mercury contamination in the Brazilian Amazon. An da Acad Bras Ciências 72:497–507

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Bisinoti MC, Jardim WF (2004) O comportamento do metilmercúrio (metilhg) no ambiente. Quim Nov. 27(4):593–600. doi:10.1590/S0100-40422004000400014

  36. Barbosa CSJ, Dórea JG, Jardim WF, Fadini PS (2004) Mercury biomagnification in a tropical black water, Rio Negro. Brazil Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 45:235–246. doi:10.1007/s00244-003-0207-1

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pontifical Catholic University of Goiás (PUC), Goiânia, GO, Brazil

    M. R. Cerbino & N. J. Silva Jr.

  2. Institute of Biosciences, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu, Brazil

    José Cavalcante Souza Vieira, C. P. Braga, G. Oliveira & P. M. Padilha

  3. São Paulo State University (UNESP), São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil

    I. F. Padilha

  4. College of Planaltina, University of Brasília (UnB), Brasília, Federal District, Brazil

    T. M. Silva & L. F. Zara

Authors
  1. M. R. Cerbino
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. José Cavalcante Souza Vieira
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. C. P. Braga
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. G. Oliveira
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. I. F. Padilha
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. T. M. Silva
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. L. F. Zara
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. N. J. Silva Jr.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. P. M. Padilha
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to José Cavalcante Souza Vieira.

Ethics declarations

Funding

This study was funded by Project regulated by the National Electric Energy Agency—ANEEL and developed under the Sustainable Energy R & D Program of Brazil S.A.R & D: 6631-0001/2012. Contract Jirau 004/13 and Brazilian research funding agencies FAPESP (Processes: 2010/51332-5 and 2013/21297-1).

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Electronic supplementary material

ESM 1

(DOCX 1952 kb).

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Cerbino, M.R., Vieira, J.C.S., Braga, C.P. et al. Metalloproteomics Approach to Analyze Mercury in Breast Milk and Hair Samples of Lactating Women in Communities of the Amazon Basin, Brazil. Biol Trace Elem Res 181, 216–226 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-017-1057-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-017-1057-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation