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Updated: Jul 20, 2026

An Anaerobic Biosensor Assay for the Detection of Mercury and Cadmium
Published on: December 17, 2018
Genetic influences on the retention of inorganic mercury
Hipolito M Custodio1, Raul Harari, Lars Gerhardsson
1Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Lund University Hospital, Lund, Sweden.
Abstract:
Mercury is eliminated as glutathione (GSH) conjugates. GSH production is mediated by glutamyl-cysteine ligase (GCL), and conjugation by glutathione S-transferases (GST). This study tested if polymorphisms in GCL and GST genes modify mercury retention in humans exposed to elemental mercury vapor. Total mercury concentrations in whole blood, plasma and urine, and genotypes for GCLC, GCLM, GSTA1, GSTM1, GSTP1, and GSTT1 were determined in 309 gold miners, gold buyers and controls. The presence of the GCLM-588T allele was associated with increased blood, plasma and urine mercury levels. These results indicate that genotypes with decreased GSH availability for mercury conjugation affect the metabolism of inorganic mercury.
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