Mutagenicity copper

The release of heavy metals into the environment presents a serious threat. Over recent decades, the annual worldwide release of heavy metals reached 22,000 T for cadmium, 939,000 T for copper, 783,000 T for lead, and 1,350,000 T for zinc.3 Because of their high solubility in the aquatic environments, heavy metals can be absorbed by living organisms and enter the food chain.6 Exposure to high levels of these metals has been linked to cytotoxic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic effects on... 

Numerous and disparate copper criteria are proposed for protecting the health of agricultural crops, aquatic life, terrestrial invertebrates, poultry, laboratory white rats, and humans (Table 3.8) however, no copper criteria are now available for protection of avian and mammalian wildlife, and this needs to be rectified. Several of the proposed criteria do not adequately protect sensitive species of plants and animals and need to be reexamined. Other research areas that merit additional effort include biomarkers of early copper stress copper interactions with interrelated trace elements in cases of deficiency and excess copper status effects on disease resistance, cancer, mutagenicity, and birth defects mechanisms of copper tolerance or acclimatization and chemical speciation of copper, including measurement of flux rates of ionic copper from metallic copper. 

There is no antidote for benzidine poisoning. Since it produces reactive metabolites, administration of free radical scavengers would alleviate the toxicity. A complex of benzidine metabolites with copper and hydrochloride is known to decrease its mutagenic effects. 

Mutagenesis results are dependent on the bacterial strain and copper compound evaluated. Mammalian cell tests indicate a positive mutagenic response. 

Studies of CuZnSOD derivatives prepared by site-directed mutagenesis are also providing interesting results concerning the SOD mechanism. For example, it has been shown that mutagenized derivatives of human CuZnSOD with major differences in copper-site geometry relative to the wild-type enzyme may nonetheless remain fully active.Studies of these and similar derivatives should provide considerable insight into the mechanism of reaction of CuZnSOD with superoxide. 

Reutova NV (2001) Mutagenic potential of copper compound and modification of effects of silver iodide. Genetika 37 617-623. 

The toxic effects of cadmiun are further manifested by a negative action on the metabolism of iron, copper and zinc which results in a deficiency of these metals with relevant disturbances. Cadmium also exerts teratogenic, mutagenic and carcinogenic effects [10]. 

Grasshoppers injected intra-abdominally with relatively high concentrations of soluble copper showed a 1.6% frequency of chromosomal anomalies in meiotic cells of testes 24 h after injection however, no control data were presented. Copper-induced DNA strand breaks in rats (Rattus sp.) and chromosomal aberrations and sperm abnormalities in mice (Mus sp.) suggest that copper is a potential human mutagen. Copper salts affect chromosomes in vitro in the presence of hydrogen peroxide and ascorbic acid and can also increase the frequency of noncomplementary nucleotides in... 

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