|
|
University of New Mexico
METALS
Superfund Center
Metal Exposure and Toxicity Assessment on Tribal Lands in the Southwest
|
|
|
Welcome to the May 2020 Newsletter!
|
|
Jorge Gonzalez Estrella accepts a tenure-track position at Oklahoma State University
Dr. Jorge Gonzalez Estrella will be leaving UNM METALS this fall to start a tenure track faculty position in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Oklahoma State University where research will focus on the fate and microbial toxicity of priority pollutants in water and soil, biotransformation of waste to energy, and bioremediation.
Jorge, Dr. Jose Cerrato (Environmental Project 1) and their colleagues recently published “Effect of Bicarbonate, Calcium, and pH on the Reactivity of As(V) and U(VI) Mixtures” in Environmental Science and Technology (March 2020). The manuscript provides new insights about uranium and arsenic mobilization. Uranium-arsenic-calcium bearing solids are stable at acidic pH, but aqueous complexation of uranium with calcium and carbonate facilitate their dissolution at neutral pH.
Jorge began working with UNM METALS Center as a postdoctoral researcher with Dr. Jose Cerrato, and continued his collaboration with the Center as research faculty in the UNM College of Engineering.
|
|
Mechanisms of Immune Dysregulation Produced by Uranium, Arsenic and Metal Mixtures
|
|
The Problem:
Native American communities in the southwestern United States are concerned that exposure to uranium (U) and arsenic (As) from abandoned uranium mine sites might have a role in the increased prevalence of metal-associated conditions including immune dysfunction.
Biomedical Project 2:
Dr. Scott Burchiel, Dr. Jim Liu and their research teams are trying to understand the how As and U exposures, alone and in combination, may lead to immune dysfunction through T- and B-cell toxicity.
They are also investigating how U alone or in combination with other metals interact with poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) to produce toxicity and how zinc may reduce toxicity.
Research Highlights from Biomedical Project 2:
- Uranyl acetate (UA) is not well-absorbed following drinking water exposure in mice, producing little systemic toxicity to lymphoid organs (Bolt et al. 2019).
- Lymphoid cells in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract receive high exposures to U and As through drinking water. (Medina et al, in preparation).
- As alters the immune system in the small intestine of mice as evidenced by changes in subsets of intra-epithelial lymphoid (IEL) T-cells and innate lymphoid cells (ILC).
- The effects of U on GI immune cells appear to be separate and distinct from As, with significant effects on T cell development.
- UA modulates the impact of As on PARP activity in peptide studies, human keratinocytes (HEK), and in mouse thymus cells.
S
ignificance:
This work provides critical mechanistic insights into the immunotoxicity of U, As-U interactions, and a framework for understanding how zinc supplementation could be used as an intervention.
|
COMMUNITY-DRIVEN SOIL SAMPLING PROJECT
|
Metals-containing dust released from the nearby Jackpile Mine, and its possible role in contaminating soils, was identified by Paguate community members as a major environmental concern during a Community Listening Session held by the CEC in September 2019.
In response, UNM METALS researchers led by Professor Adrian Brearley (Environmental Project 2) and student trainee Luna Natoli proposed a soil sampling project that involved community members as citizen-scientists in field research.
PROJECT APPROVED BY TRIBAL LEADERS,
COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND ENVIRONMENT DEPARTMENT
In January 2020, the project was reviewed and approved by the Laguna Pueblo Environmental Natural Resources Department (ENRD), tribal leadership, and the Village of Paguate community. Community partners from Paguate identified sampling locations and were trained on soil sampling methods.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the project is on temporary hold until relevant NM State, Pueblo of Laguna, and UNM policies permit field work to resume.
|
METALS INFORMS POLICYMAKERS
At the request of
Navajo Nation Council Delegate Daniel Tso (Chair, NCC Health Education and Human Services Committee),
Chris Shuey (CEC) provided an overview of UNM METALS Center findings related to the toxicity of uranium mining wastes and their implications for exposures to local community members at the March 2020 Naabi'ki'yati Committee Uranium Policy Hearing in Crownpoint, NM.
At the request of the
Navajo Nation Diné Uranium Remediation Advisory Commission (DURAC),
Center Director Dr. Johnnye Lewis provided a one-hour presentation on METALS work at the DURAC quarterly meeting on January 23, 2020. The meeting, which was open to the community, was held at the Shiprock Chapter House. The presentation was featured on the January 30th in Navajo Times.
|
|
 |
Juliana Huesties successfully defended her master's thesis via Zoom on March, 29 2020. The title of her thesis is "Zinc Finger DNA Repair Protein targets of arsenite in the nucleotide excision repair pathway. Juliana is a trainee in Dr. Jim Liu’s laboratory (Bioproject 2)
|
|
|
|
METALS @ PEPH2020
Poster presentations featuring METALS Research Translation Core and Bioproject 1:
· Hoover J, Gonzales M, et al.
Community-Engaged Research and Translation With Tribal Communities in the Western United States.
· MacKenzie D, Hudson L, Erdei E, et al.
Thinking Zinc: A Community-Based Intervention to Mitigate Health Impacts of Metals Exposure
· MacKenzie D, Ong J, Erdei E, et al.
Mixed-Metal Exposures and Immune Dysregulation in Tribal Communities
|
|
|
|
Research Translation through Art
Artist-in-Residence, Mallery Quetawki (Zuni) had a busy spring semester! She was featured on the live TV and radio show Coffee and Conversation with Frank and Larry (KCHF 11 and AM 730) on March 6 where she was interviewed about her work translating research through art. The Barelas Working Classroom in Albuquerque, NM also invited Mallery to speak to high school students about art and STEM on March 7.
The UC Berkeley School of Public Health incorporated Mallery's visual translation piece on immunology and the environment into a lecture focusing on uranium mining on the Navajo Nation.
Her recent piece, Our Flora, is a collaboration with the MIT SRP Center
(SRP
ePosted Notes. May 8, 2020, Issue 196
).
|
|
METALS Center Training
March 2020
. As part of the UNM METALS speaker series to support trainees exploration of career paths, New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) Chief Scientist Dennis McQuillan and General Council Annie Maxfield spoke about their work and careers. They were joined by Anthony Edwards of the San Juan County (CO)/Town of Silverton, Bonita Peak Mining District Superfund, Local Planning Group.
April 2020
. Dr. Eric Prossnitz from UNM Clinical & Translational Science Center was invited by Dr. Melissa Gonzales (RTC) to introduce the Accelerating Solutions for Commercialization and Entrepreneurial Development (ASCEND) HUB and other commercialization resources available at UNM METALS researchers and trainees.
|
|
|
|
NIH/NIEHS P42 ES025589 (UNM METALS)
This material was developed in part under cited research awards to the University of New Mexico. It has not been formally reviewed by the funding agencies. The views expressed are solely those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of the agencies. The funders do not endorse any products or commercial services mentioned in this presentation.
|
|
|
Follow UNM METALS on Twitter @MetalsSrp
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
