Chemical Element Profiling in the Sera and Brain of Bipolar Disorders Patients and Healthy Controls

Linking Metallic Micronutrients and Toxic Xenobiotics to Atherosclerosis and Fatty Liver Disease-Postmortem ICP-MS Analysis of Selected Human Tissues

Dyslipidaemia is a disorder of the lipid metabolism, caused mainly by poor eating habits. The most severe consequence of an inappropriate diet is the development of atherosclerosis and hepatic steatosis. It is generally believed that a change in nutrition, and increased physical activity can eliminate these health problems. The contemporary research and therapies used to treat dyslipidemia mainly focus on lowering the triglyceride and cholesterol levels. However, disturbances in trace element homeostasis or the accumulation of toxic elements can also affect physiological processes, and be involved in the development of metabolically mediated diseases. The present study aimed to determine the mineral profiles of liver and brain tissues collected at autopsy (n = 39) in groups of people with hepatic steatosis (n = 5), atherosclerosis (n = 9), hepatic steatosis, and atherosclerosis (n = 16), and others without the selected disorders (n = 9). Concentrations of 51 elements were analysed via inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) after the initial wet mineralisation of the samples with nitric acid. The results obtained allow us to conclude that the hepatic steatosis group suffers from a deficiency of important trace elements, such as copper, zinc, and molybdenum (p < 0.05), whereas the group with atherosclerosis is characterised by elevated levels of cadmium in the liver tissue (p = 0.01). Analysing the mean values of the element concentrations measured in 11 brain areas, statistically significant higher levels of calcium and copper (p < 0.001) were found in the atherosclerosis group, compared to the hepatic steatosis group, confirming the involvement of these elements in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. In addition, an accumulation of cadmium, lead, titanium, and strontium in the brain tissue was observed in the atherosclerosis group. While the accumulation of individual elements differs in different parts of the brain, the differences in the cadmium content (p < 0.05) between the study groups apply to the whole brain, except for the nucleus accumbens septi area, where a statistically significant titanium accumulation occurs in the atherosclerosis and steatosis groups, compared to the others (p < 0.05). In addition, the disruption of elemental homeostasis in the brain of a single case with bipolar disorder, and a case with hip replacement was observed. Our results confirm the involvement of chemical elements in the pathogenesis of selected metabolic diseases, and the need for further studies in larger populations.

Vanadium in Bipolar Disorders-Reviving an Old Hypothesis

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a severe and common chronic mental illness. The biological basis of the disease is poorly understood and its treatment is unsatisfactory. Our previous studies supported the notion that alterations in Na⁺, K⁺-ATPase activity were involved in the etiology of BD. As various chemical elements inhibit Na⁺, K⁺-ATPase, we determined the concentration of 26 elements in the serum of BD patients before and after treatment and in postmortem brain samples from BD patients, and compared them with matched controls. The only element that was reduced significantly in the serum following treatment was vanadium (V). Furthermore, the concentration of V was significantly lower in the pre-frontal cortex of BD patients compared with that of the controls. Intracerebroventricular administration of V in mice elicited anxiolytic and depressive activities, concomitantly inhibited brain Na⁺, K⁺-ATPase activity, and increased extracellular signal-regulated kinase phosphorylation. A hypothesis associating V with BD was set forth decades ago but eventually faded out. Our results are in accord with the hypothesis and advocate for a thorough examination of the possible involvement of chemical elements, V in particular, in BD.