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Abstract
Tungsten is an emerging contaminant in the environment. Research has demonstrated that humans are exposed to high levels of tungsten in certain settings, primarily due to increased use of tungsten in industrial applications. However, our understanding of the potential human health risks of tungsten exposure is still limited. An important point we have learned about the toxicity profile of tungsten is that it is complex because tungsten can often augment the effects of other co-exposures or co-stressors, which could result in greater toxicity or more severe disease. This has shaped the tungsten toxicology field and the types of research questions being investigated. This has particularly been true when evaluating the toxicity profile of tungsten metal alloys in combination with cobalt. In this chapter, the current state of the tungsten toxicology field will be discussed focusing on data investigating tungsten carcinogenicity and other major toxicities including pulmonary, cardiometabolic, bone, and immune endpoints, either alone or in combination with other metals. Environmental and human monitoring data will also be discussed to highlight human populations most at risk of exposure to high concentrations of tungsten, the forms of tungsten present in each setting, and exposure levels in each population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia M Bolt
- College of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States.
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2
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Hydrocalumite as well as the Formation of Scheelite Induced by Its Dissolution, Removing Aqueous Tungsten with Varying Concentrations. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:ijerph19148630. [PMID: 35886481 PMCID: PMC9323804 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19148630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2022] [Revised: 07/13/2022] [Accepted: 07/13/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
As a toxic element, tungsten (W) in elevated concentrations, originating from human activities or geological sources, poses a severe threat to the environment. However, there has been a lack of robust remediation techniques focusing on aqueous tungsten contamination with varying initial concentrations, because only recently have the toxicity and the environmental threat of tungsten been fully realized. In this study, the removal of tungsten from an aqueous solution by hydrocalumite was investigated for the first time. Systematic removal experiments were carried out at designated contact time, temperature, and initial tungsten concentration. The results showed that hydrocalumite is capable of effectively removing tungsten under various conditions, especially at high initial tungsten concentrations, with the maximum uptake capacity being up to 1120.5 mg (tungsten)/g (hydrocalumite). The mechanisms of tungsten removal were studied based on the measured chemical compositions of the solution samples and their PHREEQC simulations as well as the solid sample characterization by XRD, SEM–EDX, and XPS. At low initial tungsten concentrations (below 1 mmol/L), anion exchange between the tungsten in solution and the Cl in the hydrocalumite interlayers played a critical role in tungsten removal. At high initial tungsten concentrations (higher than 5 mmol/L), the removal of W from the solution was solely caused by the precipitation of scheelite (CaWO4), facilitated by the substantial release of Ca2+ from hydrocalumite dissolution. At moderate tungsten concentrations (1–5 mmol/L), however, both mechanisms were responsible for the uptake of tungsten, with scheelite precipitation being more important. Hydrocalumite is promising for wide use in the treatment of high-tungsten natural waters or wastewaters.
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Chen L, Sun Q, Peng S, Tan T, Mei G, Chen H, Zhao Y, Yao P, Tang Y. Associations of blood and urinary heavy metals with rheumatoid arthritis risk among adults in NHANES, 1999-2018. CHEMOSPHERE 2022; 289:133147. [PMID: 34864016 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.133147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2021] [Revised: 11/07/2021] [Accepted: 11/30/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Heavy metals exposure has been widely recognized as a risk factor for human health. However, limited information is available about the impacts of heavy metals on rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Herein, we estimated the associations of 3 blood and 11 urinary metals with the risk of RA among 49830 U.S. adults from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 1999-2018. In the single-exposure model, blood cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb), urinary Cd, Pb, antimony (Sb), tungsten (Tu), and uranium (Ur) were identified to be positively associated with RA risk. Furthermore, weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression, quantile-based g computation (qgcomp), and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) analyses consistently showed that both blood and urinary metals-mixed exposure were positively correlated with the risk of RA, and highlighted that Cd and Pb were responsible for the outcomes. Such associations were more evident in the young and middle-aged population. These findings indicated that exposure to heavy metals increased RA risk, and advanced the identification of risk factors for RA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Chen
- Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health and MOE Key Lab of Environment and Health, Key Laboratory of Environment and Health (Wuhan), Ministry of Environmental Protection, State Key Laboratory of Environment Health (Incubation), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Qiuzi Sun
- Yancheng Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Yancheng, China
| | - Shufen Peng
- Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health and MOE Key Lab of Environment and Health, Key Laboratory of Environment and Health (Wuhan), Ministry of Environmental Protection, State Key Laboratory of Environment Health (Incubation), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Tianqi Tan
- Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health and MOE Key Lab of Environment and Health, Key Laboratory of Environment and Health (Wuhan), Ministry of Environmental Protection, State Key Laboratory of Environment Health (Incubation), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Guibin Mei
- Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health and MOE Key Lab of Environment and Health, Key Laboratory of Environment and Health (Wuhan), Ministry of Environmental Protection, State Key Laboratory of Environment Health (Incubation), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Huimin Chen
- Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health and MOE Key Lab of Environment and Health, Key Laboratory of Environment and Health (Wuhan), Ministry of Environmental Protection, State Key Laboratory of Environment Health (Incubation), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Ying Zhao
- Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health and MOE Key Lab of Environment and Health, Key Laboratory of Environment and Health (Wuhan), Ministry of Environmental Protection, State Key Laboratory of Environment Health (Incubation), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Ping Yao
- Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health and MOE Key Lab of Environment and Health, Key Laboratory of Environment and Health (Wuhan), Ministry of Environmental Protection, State Key Laboratory of Environment Health (Incubation), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Yuhan Tang
- Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health and MOE Key Lab of Environment and Health, Key Laboratory of Environment and Health (Wuhan), Ministry of Environmental Protection, State Key Laboratory of Environment Health (Incubation), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
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Lin H, Song Z, Bianco A. How macrophages respond to two-dimensional materials: a critical overview focusing on toxicity. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND HEALTH. PART. B, PESTICIDES, FOOD CONTAMINANTS, AND AGRICULTURAL WASTES 2021; 56:333-356. [PMID: 33760696 DOI: 10.1080/03601234.2021.1885262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
With wider use of graphene-based materials and other two-dimensional (2 D) materials in various fields, including electronics, composites, biomedicine, etc., 2 D materials can trigger undesired effects at cellular, tissue and organ level. Macrophages can be found in many organs. They are one of the most important cells in the immune system and they are relevant in the study of nanomaterials as they phagocytose them. Nanomaterials have multi-faceted effects on phagocytic immune cells like macrophages, showing signs of inflammation in the form of pro-inflammatory cytokine or reactive oxidation species production, or upregulation of activation markers due to the presence of these foreign bodies. This review is catered to researchers interested in the potential impact and toxicity of 2 D materials, particularly in macrophages, focusing on few-layer graphene, graphene oxide, graphene quantum dots, as well as other promising 2 D materials containing molybdenum, manganese, boron, phosphorus and tungsten. We describe applications relevant to the growing area of 2 D materials research, and the possible risks of ions and molecules used in the production of these promising 2 D materials, or those produced by the degradation and dissolution of 2 D materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hazel Lin
- CNRS, Immunology, Immunopathology and Therapeutic Chemistry, UPR 3572, University of Strasbourg, ISIS, Strasbourg, France
| | - Zhengmei Song
- CNRS, Immunology, Immunopathology and Therapeutic Chemistry, UPR 3572, University of Strasbourg, ISIS, Strasbourg, France
| | - Alberto Bianco
- CNRS, Immunology, Immunopathology and Therapeutic Chemistry, UPR 3572, University of Strasbourg, ISIS, Strasbourg, France
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Bertinat R, Westermeier F, Gatica R, Nualart F. Sodium tungstate: Is it a safe option for a chronic disease setting, such as diabetes? J Cell Physiol 2018; 234:51-60. [DOI: 10.1002/jcp.26913] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2018] [Accepted: 06/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Romina Bertinat
- Centro de Microscopía Avanzada, CMA Bio‐Bio Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Concepción Concepción Chile
| | - Francisco Westermeier
- Department of Health Studies Institute of Biomedical Science, FH JOANNEUM Gesellschaft mbH University of Applied Sciences Graz Austria
- Facultad de Ciencia, Universidad San Sebastián Santiago Chile
| | - Rodrigo Gatica
- Laboratorio de Patología Veterinaria Escuela de Veterinaria, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Mayor Santiago Chile
| | - Francisco Nualart
- Centro de Microscopía Avanzada, CMA Bio‐Bio Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Concepción Concepción Chile
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Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Tungsten is an emerging environmental toxicant, yet our understanding of the potential risks of exposure on human health is still limited. RECENT FINDINGS In this review, we will discuss populations most at risk of exposure to high concentrations of tungsten. In addition, we will highlight what is known about the toxicity profile of tungsten compounds, based on epidemiological, in vitro, and in vivo studies, focusing on bone, immune, pulmonary, and cancer outcomes. Of note, emerging evidence indicates that tungsten can augment the effects of other stimulants, stressors, and toxicants. Of particular importance may be tungsten-cobalt mixtures that seem to be more toxic than either metal alone. This is important because it means that we cannot just evaluate the toxicity of tungsten in isolation. Finally, we still have limited information of how many of the in vitro and in vivo findings translate to human populations, so it will be important to conduct epidemiology studies in highly exposed populations to adequately address the potential risks of tungsten exposure on human health. Together, we discuss recent findings that support further investigation into the toxicities of tungsten alone and in combination with other metals.
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