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Toxicology of Metals: Exposure, Effects and Implications for Occupational Health

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Occupational Safety and Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 March 2020) | Viewed by 14582

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Natalia Pawlas

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Chair and Department of Pharmacology, Medical University of Silesia, School of Medicine with Division of Dentistry in Zabrze, 41 808 Zabrze, Poland
Interests: pharmacology; toxicology; epidemiology; genetic epidemiology; metabolic profiling of individuals with classic and genetic risk factors of coronary artery disease
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Dr. Veruscka Leso

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Section of Occupational Medicine, Department of Public Health, University of Naples Federico II, Via S. Pansini 5, 80131 Naples, Italy
Interests: medicine; public health; nanosafety; active aging; occupational toxicology; industrial health; biological monitoring; occupational risk assessment; occupational diseases
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Heavy metal toxicity has proven to be a major and well-known threat for occupational health.

Great scientific, technological, and legislative efforts have aimed to achieve suitable risk assessment and management strategies in workplace settings involved in metal production, processing, handling, as well as recycling and disposal.

Although a significant improvement in job conditions has been successfully obtained, recent progress of analytical techniques in both environmental and human biomonitoring, as well as the development of innovative techniques that are able to detect early biological effects, may be useful to assess the effectiveness of currently adopted preventive and protective measures.

Therefore, the aim of this Special Issue is to collect more recent and substantial information that is useful to verify and improve current risk-assessment and management strategies in order to gain better guidance for the protection of the health and safety of involved workers.

Papers invited for this Special Issue may include the following:

In vitro and in vivo original studies assessing the toxicokinetic and dynamic behaviours of workplace-relevant heavy metals, as well as their molecular mechanisms of action and translational studies, combining a high academic standard with a practical focus on their relevance for the health and safety of exposed workers;
In field original studies addressing emerging conditions of metal exposure and early effects through environmental and biological monitoring investigations;
Research on emerging exposure to metals in novel technological processes and industries and its health effects as well as possible biomonitoring;
Systematic reviews of the literature analyzing the health and safety aspects of heavy metal exposure with a particular focus on possible implications for occupational health, as well as on policies to manage risks in different occupational settings.

Dr. Natalia Pawlas
Dr. Veruscka Leso
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

metal toxicology
biological monitoring
exposure biomarkers
effect biomarkers
in vitro studies
in vivo studies
toxicokinetic and dynamic
molecular mechanisms
metal workers
occupational health
risk assessment
risk management

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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25 pages, 1358 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Alleviating Effect of α-Lipoic Acid and Magnesium on Cadmium-Induced Inflammatory Processes, Oxidative Stress and Bone Metabolism Disorders in Wistar Rats

by Iwona Markiewicz-Górka, Krystyna Pawlas, Aleksandra Jaremków, Lidia Januszewska, Paweł Pawłowski and Natalia Pawlas

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(22), 4483; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16224483 - 14 Nov 2019

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3298

Abstract

Cadmium exposure contributes to internal organ dysfunction and the development of chronic diseases. The aim of the study was to assess the alleviating effect of α-lipoic acid and/or magnesium on cadmium-induced oxidative stress and disorders in bone metabolism, kidney and liver function, and hematological and biochemical parameters changes. Male rats were exposed to cadmium (30 mg Cd/kg of feed) for three months. Some animals exposed to Cd were supplemented with magnesium (150 mg Mg/kg of feed) and/or with α-lipoic acid (100 mg/kg body weight, four times a week). Cd intake inhibited body weight gain and lowered hemoglobin concentration, whereas it increased the activities of liver enzymes, as well as the level of oxidative stress, CTX-1 (C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen, bone resorption marker), and CRP (C-reactive protein, marker of inflammation); it decreased vitamin D3, GSH (reduced glutathione), and the serum urea nitrogen/creatinine index. Mg and/or α-lipoic acid supplementation increased the antioxidant potential, and partially normalized the studied biochemical parameters. The obtained results show that both magnesium and α-lipoic acid decrease oxidative stress and the level of inflammatory marker, as well as normalize bone metabolism and liver and kidney function. Combined intake of α-lipoic acid and magnesium results in reinforcement of the protective effect; especially, it increases antioxidant defense. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Toxicology of Metals: Exposure, Effects and Implications for Occupational Health)

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17 pages, 6545 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Cannabidiol Protects Dopaminergic Neuronal Cells from Cadmium

by Jacopo Junio Valerio Branca, Gabriele Morucci, Matteo Becatti, Donatello Carrino, Carla Ghelardini, Massimo Gulisano, Lorenzo Di Cesare Mannelli and Alessandra Pacini

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(22), 4420; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16224420 - 12 Nov 2019

Cited by 30 | Viewed by 4714

Abstract

The protective effect of cannabidiol (CBD), the non-psychoactive component of Cannabis sativa, against neuronal toxicity induced by cadmium chloride (CdCl₂ 10 μM) was investigated in a retinoic acid (RA)-differentiated SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cell line. CBD (1 μM) was applied 24 h before and removed during cadmium (Cd) treatment. In differentiated neuronal cells, CBD significantly reduced the Cd-dependent decrease of cell viability, and the rapid reactive oxygen species (ROS) increase. CBD significantly prevented the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress (GRP78 increase) and the subcellular distribution of the cytochrome C, as well as the overexpression of the pro-apoptotic protein BAX. Immunocytochemical analysis as well as quantitative protein evaluation by western blotting revealed that CBD partially counteracted the depletion of the growth associated protein 43 (GAP43) and of the neuronal specific class III β-tubulin (β3 tubulin) induced by Cd treatment. These data showed that Cd-induced neuronal injury was ameliorated by CBD treatment and it was concluded that CBD may represent a potential option to protect neuronal cells from the detrimental effects of Cd toxicity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Toxicology of Metals: Exposure, Effects and Implications for Occupational Health)

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15 pages, 1732 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Relationship between Nkx2.1 and DNA Oxidative Damage Repair in Nickel Smelting Workers: Jinchang Cohort Study

by Zhiyuan Cheng, Ning Cheng, Dian Shi, Xiaoyu Ren, Ting Gan, Yana Bai and Kehu Yang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(1), 120; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16010120 - 04 Jan 2019

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2844

Abstract

Background: Occupational nickel exposure can cause DNA oxidative damage and influence DNA repair. However, the underlying mechanism of nickel-induced high-risk of lung cancer has not been fully understood. Our study aims to evaluate whether the nickel-induced oxidative damage and DNA repair were correlated with the alterations in Smad2 phosphorylation status and Nkx2.1 expression levels, which has been considered as the lung cancer initiation gene. Methods: 140 nickel smelters and 140 age-matched administrative officers were randomly stratified by service length from Jinchang Cohort. Canonical regression, χ² test, Spearman correlation etc. were used to evaluate the association among service length, MDA, 8-OHdG, hOGG1, PARP, pSmad2, and Nkx2.1. Results: The concentrations of MDA, PARP, pSmad2, and Nkx2.1 significantly increased. Nkx2.1 (r_s = 0.312, p < 0.001) and Smad2 phosphorylation levels (r_s = 0.232, p = 0.006) were positively correlated with the employment length in nickel smelters, which was not observed in the administrative officer group. Also, elevation of Nkx2.1 expression was positively correlated with service length, 8-OHdG, PARP, hOGG1 and pSmad2 levels in nickel smelters. Conclusions: Occupational nickel exposure could increase the expression of Nkx2.1 and pSmad2, which correlated with the nickel-induced oxidative damage and DNA repair change. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Toxicology of Metals: Exposure, Effects and Implications for Occupational Health)

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Review

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17 pages, 996 KiB

Open AccessReview

Welding Fume Exposure and Epigenetic Alterations: A Systematic Review

by Veruscka Leso, Ilaria Vetrani, Ilaria Della Volpe, Caterina Nocera and Ivo Iavicoli

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(10), 1745; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16101745 - 17 May 2019

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3282

Abstract

Epigenetics are heritable changes in gene expression not coded in the DNA sequence, which stand at the interface between the genome, environmental exposure and development. From an occupational health perspective, epigenetic variants may link workplace exposures and health effects. Therefore, this review aimed to overview possible epigenetic effects induced by welding fumes on exposed workers and health implications. A systematic search was performed on Pubmed, Scopus, and ISI Web of Knowledge databases. DNA methylation changes have been reported in genes responsible for the cardiac autonomic function and coagulation, i.e., LINE-1, GPR133 and F2RL3, in mitochondrial-DNA-sequences involved in the regulation of energy-generation/redox-signaling, as well as in inflammatory activated genes, i.e., iNOS. However, the limited number of retrieved articles, their cross-sectional nature, the lack of a suitable qualitative-quantitative exposure assessment, and the heterogeneity of biological-outcomes investigated, prevent the extrapolation of a definite causal relationship between welding fumes and epigenetic phenomena. Future studies should clarify the function of such epigenetic alterations as possible markers of occupational exposure and early effect, dose-response relationships, and underlying molecular mechanisms. Overall, this may be helpful to guide suitable risk assessment and management strategies to protect the health of workers exposed to welding fumes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Toxicology of Metals: Exposure, Effects and Implications for Occupational Health)

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