Chemical speciation of blood selenium in a population with high intake of mercury

人们对大量食用汞化合物含量相对较高的海鲜所带来的潜在健康风险表示担忧。 这项研究的对象是食用大量海产品的人群，他们的头发或血液中汞的生物浓度相对较高，但没有明显的神经症状。我们重点关注硒，这是一种微量营养素，已被证明可以抵消汞（无机和有机）的毒性。通过测定血浆中三种含硒蛋白，分析硒与汞暴露的关系。 我们发现硒及其蛋白质与汞之间的关系取决于汞暴露水平，这表明硒对高水平的汞暴露有“反应”。

There has been a concern regarding the potential health risks brought by high consumption of seafoods that contain relatively high concentration of mercury compounds. This research targeted a population that had high dietary consumption of marine products, and showing relatively high biological concentration of mercury in their hair or blood, without showing apparent manifestation of neurological symptoms. We focused on selenium, a micronutrient which has been shown to counteract to the toxicity of mercury (both inorganic and organic). By measuring three "selenium-containing proteins" in the plasma, we analyze the relationship between selenium and mercury exposure. We have found that the relationship between selenium as well as its proteins and mercury depended on the level of mercury exposure, suggesting that selenium is "reacting" to high level of mercury exposure.