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Health effects of metals: a role for evolution?

T Clarkson1

  • 1Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine, New York 14642, USA.

Environmental Health Perspectives
|February 1, 1995
PubMed
Summary

Life evolved with metals, developing essential uses and protective mechanisms against toxicity. Evolution

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Area of Science:

  • Environmental Science
  • Toxicology
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Metals have been utilized since antiquity, with industrialization increasing their use and environmental release.
  • Life on Earth evolved alongside metals, incorporating some as essential components while developing defenses against toxic metals.
  • The rise of atmospheric oxygen influenced metal solubility and potentially co-opted cellular defense systems for both oxygen and metal toxicity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the evolutionary role in metal toxicology.
  • To examine how essential metal functions are disrupted by nonessential metal competition.
  • To highlight protective mechanisms involving oxygen defense systems.

Main Methods:

  • Review of evolutionary adaptations to metal presence.
  • Analysis of essential metal-nonessential metal interactions.
  • Examination of cellular defense mechanisms related to oxygen and metal toxicity.

Main Results:

  • Essential metals are integral to cellular structure and function due to evolutionary incorporation.
  • Cells developed mechanisms to cope with potentially toxic metals, some overlapping with oxygen defense.
  • Nonessential metals can disrupt essential metal functions through competitive interactions.

Conclusions:

  • Evolutionary history shaped the dual role of metals as essential nutrients and toxicants.
  • Cellular defense systems, particularly those for oxygen, play a crucial role in mitigating metal toxicity.
  • Understanding these evolutionary adaptations is key to addressing occupational and environmental metal health risks.
Keywords:
Non-programmatic

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