Heavy Metal Exposure and Immune Dysfunction: Mechanistic Pathways in Humans and Animals
Keywords:
Heavy metals, Neurological impairments, DNA damage, Gastrointestinal disordersAbstract
In the past few years, contamination of the environment by heavy metals has emerged as a significant global issue. Heavy metals comprise a category of metals and metalloids with an atomic density above 4,000 kg m-3. Heavy metals, including Nickel (Ni), Cobalt (Co), Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), and Lead (Pb), are found in the biota. These metals, referred to as traces, are crucial for numerous metabolic activities in organisms such as animals, plants, and microbes. Heavy metals can enter the human body through the use of contaminated drinking water or the ingestion of soil or crops cultivated on polluted land. Heavy metals, including lead, mercury, cadmium, and copper, are cumulative toxins that pose environmental risks and are known to be very harmful. These metals are significant contributors to oxidative stress within cells and play a crucial role in the etiology of various human illnesses, including carcinogenesis. Exposure to heavy metal toxicity results in neurological impairment, intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, lung carcinoma, gastrointestinal disorders, dermatitis, and fetal demise. Numerous metals have been demonstrated to directly alter and/or impair DNA by creating DNA adducts that provoke chromosomal breakage. The unregulated access to the dumpsite allows scavengers to forage for raw materials daily, most of which ultimately reenters neighborhoods as animal feed and even human sustenance. Feral chickens, pigs, goats, dogs, and cats traverse the dumpsite, consuming hazardous waste and becoming carriers of bugs and parasites, which are subsequently transmitted to nearby residences, so inducing diseases in both animals and humans.
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