Jerome O. Nriagu and Eric P. Skaar (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780262029193
- eISBN:
- 9780262327619
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262029193.001.0001
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health
Many parts of the world endemic for the most common infectious diseases have the highest prevalence rates of trace metal deficiencies and increasing rates of trace metal pollution. The co-clustering ...
More
Many parts of the world endemic for the most common infectious diseases have the highest prevalence rates of trace metal deficiencies and increasing rates of trace metal pollution. The co-clustering of major infectious diseases with trace metal deficiency or toxicity has created a complex web of interactions with serious but poorly understood health repercussions. Infectious diseases can increase human susceptibility to adverse effects of metal exposure while metal excess or deficiency can increase the incidence or severity of infectious diseases. The combined effects of exposure to metals and pathogens on the burden of disease and the mechanisms of interactions between trace metals, pathogens, and the environment have largely been overlooked in animal and human studies. Drawing on expertise from several fields, this book focuses on the distribution, trafficking, fate, and effects of trace metals in biological systems, with the goal of enhancing our understanding of the relationships between homeostatic mechanisms of trace metals and the pathogenesis of infectious diseases. It provides a comprehensive review of current knowledge on vertebrate metal-withholding mechanisms and the strategies employed by different microbes to compete for metals to avoid starvation (or poisoning). State-of-the-art analytical techniques available to investigate pathogen-metal interactions are summarized and open questions highlighted to guide future research. Improving knowledge in these areas will be instrumental to the generation of novel therapeutic countermeasures against infectious diseases.Less
Many parts of the world endemic for the most common infectious diseases have the highest prevalence rates of trace metal deficiencies and increasing rates of trace metal pollution. The co-clustering of major infectious diseases with trace metal deficiency or toxicity has created a complex web of interactions with serious but poorly understood health repercussions. Infectious diseases can increase human susceptibility to adverse effects of metal exposure while metal excess or deficiency can increase the incidence or severity of infectious diseases. The combined effects of exposure to metals and pathogens on the burden of disease and the mechanisms of interactions between trace metals, pathogens, and the environment have largely been overlooked in animal and human studies. Drawing on expertise from several fields, this book focuses on the distribution, trafficking, fate, and effects of trace metals in biological systems, with the goal of enhancing our understanding of the relationships between homeostatic mechanisms of trace metals and the pathogenesis of infectious diseases. It provides a comprehensive review of current knowledge on vertebrate metal-withholding mechanisms and the strategies employed by different microbes to compete for metals to avoid starvation (or poisoning). State-of-the-art analytical techniques available to investigate pathogen-metal interactions are summarized and open questions highlighted to guide future research. Improving knowledge in these areas will be instrumental to the generation of novel therapeutic countermeasures against infectious diseases.
Jerome O. Nriagu and Eric P. Skaar
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780262029193
- eISBN:
- 9780262327619
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262029193.003.0001
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health
Interest in processes at the nexus of host–microbe–metal interactions has risen as a result of advancements in the study of metallomics, proteomics, and genomics. These emerging fields have given ...
More
Interest in processes at the nexus of host–microbe–metal interactions has risen as a result of advancements in the study of metallomics, proteomics, and genomics. These emerging fields have given rise to new developments in powerful analytical methods and technology for studying the identity, distribution, quantity, trafficking, fate, and effects of trace metals in biological systems. Applications of these advanced techniques to the study of metabolic cycles are yielding results and have placed scientists at the threshold of major paradigm shifts in our understanding of the relationships between homeostatic mechanisms of trace metals and pathogenesis of infectious diseases. Fields present at this Forum included chemistry, biology/biochemistry, toxicology, nutrition, immunology, microbiology, epidemiology, environmental and occupational health, as well as environmental and veterinary medicine. Participants were tasked with using their knowledge to discuss how the metabolic cycles of trace metals relate to the pathogenesis of disease during infection. The stimulating dialog that ensued covered a wide range of views, insights, and perspectives on current knowledge and raised important open questions that should be addressed by future research initiatives.Less
Interest in processes at the nexus of host–microbe–metal interactions has risen as a result of advancements in the study of metallomics, proteomics, and genomics. These emerging fields have given rise to new developments in powerful analytical methods and technology for studying the identity, distribution, quantity, trafficking, fate, and effects of trace metals in biological systems. Applications of these advanced techniques to the study of metabolic cycles are yielding results and have placed scientists at the threshold of major paradigm shifts in our understanding of the relationships between homeostatic mechanisms of trace metals and pathogenesis of infectious diseases. Fields present at this Forum included chemistry, biology/biochemistry, toxicology, nutrition, immunology, microbiology, epidemiology, environmental and occupational health, as well as environmental and veterinary medicine. Participants were tasked with using their knowledge to discuss how the metabolic cycles of trace metals relate to the pathogenesis of disease during infection. The stimulating dialog that ensued covered a wide range of views, insights, and perspectives on current knowledge and raised important open questions that should be addressed by future research initiatives.
