Table Of ContentCurrent Topics in Neurotoxicity
Series Editors
Richard M. Kostrzewa
Trevor Archer
For further volumes:
http://www.springer.com/series/8791
Sandra Ceccatelli Michael Aschner
●
Editors
Methylmercury
and Neurotoxicity
Editors
Sandra Ceccatelli, MD, PhD Michael Aschner, PhD
Department of Neuroscience Departments of Pediatrics
Karolinska Institutet Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Stockholm, Sweden Nashville, TN, USA
ISBN 978-1-4614-2382-9 e-ISBN 978-1-4614-2383-6
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-2383-6
Springer New York Dordrecht Heidelberg London
Library of Congress Control Number: 2012932630
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Preface
This book intends to facilitate among its readers the understanding of the importance
of mercury pollution in the environment and the health consequences associated
with exposure to this metal. The knowledge on methylmercury (MeHg) toxicity
collected over the years is undoubtedly robust creating an impression all that is to
be learnt about this metal has already been accomplished. However, in large mea-
sure, past knowledge has merely laid the ground for interesting questions that have
yet to be fully addressed and concepts have yet to be deciphered. One of our major
goals was to make a valiant attempt to include state-of-the-art information on the
mechanisms of mercury toxicity, describing its effects on cultured cellular systems
as well as in whole living organisms, starting from the lessons learned from the
tragic events in Minamata Bay, Japan. A special focus of the book is on the neuro-
toxic effects of MeHg. The nervous system is a unique organ that can be visualized
as an assemblage of interrelated neural systems that regulate their activity in a
dynamic and complex manner. An understanding at the cellular level is necessary
to gather information on the structural and functional alterations induced by MeHg
and how they possibly become unmasked and evident at the behavioral level. We
organized the sequence of the 20 chapters having these considerations in mind. In
Chaps. 1 – 3 timely epidemiological data are presented opening with an update on
Minamata disease. Chapters 4 – 7 address the mechanisms of MeHg toxicity, with
special emphasis on potential protective mechanisms, oxidative stress, and thyroid
hormone impairments. Chapters 8 and 9 provide an overview of neurodevelop-
mental toxicity studies, in monkeys and rodents respectively, focusing mostly on
the behavioral alterations induced by MeHg. Chapter 10 discusses the recent
evidence for epigenetic changes induced by exposure to MeHg and other toxic
agents. Chapters 11 – 16 are devoted to in vitro studies on MeHg mechanisms of
toxicity in various cell types, including neurons, glia, and neural stem cells. In
Chaps. 17 – 19 data from “alternative” in vivo models are reviewed to show relevant
and novel information about the mechanisms of MeHg toxicity can be gathered
from phylogenetically lower animals. We close the book with the Chap. 20 dis-
cussing how fi sh-eating wildlife can be used for public health strategies to assess the
neurotoxic risks of MeHg.
v
vi Preface
We are hopeful that this multidisciplinary approach will provide the reader with
an appreciation on how various methods can be applied to address the challenges
associated with MeHg poisoning. We are thankful to the contributors for the highly
informative chapters that should enlighten both the novice and the experienced
researcher, providing them with renewed sense on contemporary issues in mercury
research and its adverse health effects on both the developing and mature nervous
system.
We sincerely hope that the series of chapters compiled herein will amass a
renewed wave of interest transforming the ideas presented into mechanistically
driven and cost-effective research that will further enhance the understanding and
prevention of mercury-induced ill effects.
Stockholm, Sweden Sandra Ceccatelli, MD, PhD
Nashville, TN, USA Michael Aschner, PhD
Contents
1 Epidemiological Update of Methylmercury
and Minamata Disease ........................................................................... 1
Noriyuki Hachiya
2 Epidemiological Evidence on Methylmercury Neurotoxicity ............ 13
Jordi Julvez, Takashi Yorifuji, Anna L. Choi,
and Philippe Grandjean
3 The Impact of Prenatal Exposure to Methylmercury
and Maternal Nutritional Status on Child Development:
Findings from the Seychelles Child Development Study .................... 37
Edwin van Wijngaarden, Gary J. Myers, Conrad F. Shamlaye,
J.J. Strain, and Philip W. Davidson
4 Methylmercury and Fish Nutrients in Experimental Models ............ 55
M. Christopher Newland
5 Mercury-Dependent Inhibition of Selenoenzymes
and Mercury Toxicity............................................................................. 91
Nicholas V.C. Ralston, Alexander Azenkeng,
and Laura J. Raymond
6 Redox State in Mediating Methylmercury Neurotoxicity .................. 101
Marcelo Farina, Michael Aschner, and João B.T. Rocha
7 The Role of Thyroid Modulation by Methylmercury
in Developmental Neurotoxicity ........................................................... 127
Kouki Mori and Katsumi Yoshida
8 Effects of Developmental Methylmercury Exposure
on Nervous System Function in Monkeys ............................................ 143
Deborah C. Rice
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viii Contents
9 Behavioural Effects of Exposure to Methylmercury
During Early Development ................................................................... 163
Natalia Onishchenko, Stefan Spulber, and Sandra Ceccatelli
10 Epigenetics of Environmental Contaminants ...................................... 199
Natalia Onishchenko, Nina N. Karpova, and Eero Castrén
11 Methylmercury Neurotoxicity: A Synopsis of In Vitro Effects .......... 219
Lucio G. Costa and Gennaro Giordano
12 Effects of Methylmercury on Cellular Signal
Transduction Systems ............................................................................ 229
Fusako Usuki and Masatake Fujimura
13 Methylmercury Neurotoxicity: Why Are some Cells
more Vulnerable than Others?.............................................................. 241
Parvinder Kaur, Michael Aschner, and Tore Syversen
14 In Vitro Models for Methylmercury Neurotoxicity:
Effects on Glutamatergic Cerebellar Granule Neurons ..................... 259
Cristina Suñol and Eduard Rodríguez-Farré
15 Methylmercury and Glia Cells.............................................................. 271
Yin Zhaobao, Marcelo Farina, João B.T. Rocha,
Parvinder Kaur, Tore Syversen, and Michael Aschner
16 Methylmercury and Neural Stem Cells ............................................... 287
Karin Edoff and Sandra Ceccatelli
17 Contributions of the Drosophila Model to Understanding
Methylmercury Effects on Development ............................................. 303
Matthew D. Rand
18 Caenorhabditis elegans as a Predictive Model
for Methylmercury-Induced Neurotoxicity ......................................... 319
Kirsten J. Helmcke and Michael Aschner
19 Zebrafi sh as a Model for Methylmercury Neurotoxicity .................... 335
Daniel N. Weber, Rebekah H. Klingler,
and Michael J. Carvan III
20 Piscivorous Mammalian Wildlife as Sentinels
of Methylmercury Exposure and Neurotoxicity
in Humans ............................................................................................... 357
Niladri Basu
Index ................................................................................................................ 371
Contributors
Michael Aschner , PhD Departments of Pediatrics and Pharmacology,
and the Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development ,
Vanderbilt University Medical Center , Nashville , TN , USA
Alexander Azenkeng , PhD, BS Energy & Environmental Research Center ,
University of North Dakota , Grand Forks , ND , USA
Niladri Basu , PhD Department of Environmental Health Sciences,
School of Public Health , University of Michigan , Ann Arbor , MI , USA
Michael J. Carvan III, PhD School of Freshwater Sciences ,
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee , Milwaukee , WI , USA
Eero Castrén , MD, PhD Neuroscience Center , University of Helsinki ,
Helsinki , F inland
Sandra Ceccatelli , MD, PhD Department of Neuroscience ,
Karolinska Institutet , Stockholm , Sweden
Anna L. Choi , ScD Department of Environmental Health , Harvard School
of Public Health , Boston , MA , USA
Lucio G. Costa , MD Department of Environmental and Occupational
Health Sciences , University of Washington , Seattle , WA , USA
Department of Human Anatomy, Pharmacology and Forensic Science ,
University of Parma Medical School , Parma , Italy
Philip W. Davidson , PhD University of Rochester School of Medicine
and Dentistry , Rochester , NY , USA
Karin Edoff , PhD Department of Neuroscience , Karolinska Institutet ,
Stockholm , Sweden
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