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University of New Mexico
METALS
Superfund Center
Metals Exposure and Toxicity Assessment on Tribal Lands in the Southwest
Welcome to our June 2023 Newsletter!
Biological Project Highlight:
Detecting Metals in Individuals
Dr. Alicia Bolt (Project Lead for Biological Project Lung within the UNM METALS center) has been collaborating with Drs. Justin Baca and Robert Taylor in the Department of Emergency Medicine and Dr. Yiliang Zhu in the Department of Internal Medicine to investigate use of a microneedle patch to remove fluid found in the spaces around cells in the skin called dermal interstitial fluid (ISF) that will be used to measure heavy metals over time to assess exposure.

Their research team created a mixed heavy metal exposure model where rats were exposed to either low or high concentrations of arsenic, uranium, vanadium, and cadmium in their drinking water for 8 weeks and concentrations of heavy metals were quantified in blood and dermal ISF over the course of the study. Samples were compared to samples from rats exposed to tap water for 8 weeks. Their results indicate that all four metals could be quantified in ISF samples and the concentrations measured were comparable to blood concentrations in the same animal, however for many samples, the levels of metals detected were below the limits of detection of the instrumentation. Future work will focus on better understanding how metals accumulate in ISF throughout exposure and identify which metals are more ideally measured in ISF versus other biological samples.

Their exciting preliminary results could inform the potential use of this technology to monitor heavy metal exposure in humans. Their research team ultimately envisions a wearable microneedle patch that could be mailed to individuals or distributed through community centers and used to measure ISF heavy metal levels to monitor exposure over time in rural settings. Metal measurements were performed by Dr. Abdul-Mehdi Ali, Director of the Analytical Chemistry Laboratory at the UNM Earth and Planetary Sciences Department.
Trainee Highlights

Jorge Moreno

Jorge is a second-year PhD student in the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program at the University of New Mexico in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. He works in the lab of Dr. Alicia Bolt that primarily focuses on the exposure to heavy metals and their impact on cancer and autoimmunity development. Jorge is currently investigating the effects of inhaled metal particulate matter from abandoned uranium mines and their effect on pulmonary and immune system dysregulation.
Yanhong Huang

Yanhong Huang is currently a second-year PhD student in Geography at the Department of Geography & Environmental Studies, University of New Mexico. She is working under the guidance of Dr. Xi Gong, her advisor, on research areas related to environmental health, spatial analysis, and GIS. Yanhong's primary research focus is to investigate the associations between air pollution and human health in the state of New Mexico.
Myranda Thompson

Myranda Thompson is a second year PhD student in the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program (BSGP) at the University of New Mexico. She performs gut injury and regeneration research under the direction of Dr. Julie In. Current focuses of her work include the effect of non-fissile uranium bearing dust (UBD) on the gut and the mechanisms underlying secretory differentiation in response to this injury.

As of February, 2023, Past METALS trainee, Dr. Rachel Speer is now a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at UNM.
She currently works on several projects, including mechanisms of arsenic enhanced ultraviolet radiation carcinogenesis, characterizing chromium binding proteins, and the effects of hexavalent chromium exposure on infertility and early aging of the reproductive system.
JOSE CERRATO, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE METALS SRP CENTER, REPRESENTED THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
AT THE WHITE HOUSE
Jose Cerrato, deputy director of the METALS SRP center represented the University of New Mexico at the White House forum on campus and community-scale climate change solutions on Wednesday, March 8, 2023. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the University of Washington (UW) brought together U.S. Government officials with climate, sustainability, and resilience leaders and educators from colleges and universities across the country for a virtual forum. These stakeholders showcased how innovative ideas and actions can advance climate change efforts on college campuses while benefitting the surrounding communities and beyond. The discussions included:
• Making campuses more sustainable and resilient, including pathways to demonstrating net-zero emissions;  
• Ensuring that students have the knowledge and skills to lead in the clean industries of tomorrow and to plan, deploy, and maintain the climate-smart infrastructure needed;
• Providing climate information services to states, municipalities, and indigenous communities; and
• Serving as proving grounds for new climate solutions and strategies to bring them into the innovation ecosystem.
METALS Meeting with Pueblo of Laguna Community Partners.


Hopi/Laguna artist, Joseph Stacey, created a beautiful visual representation of our discussions with Christine Lowery, Jeff Gaco, and Kyle Swimmer from the Pueblo of Laguna regarding culturally appropriate community-based research practices at our May METALS meeting. The artwork will be shared at community meetings and is a valuable communication tool we plan to use again in future meetings.

EPA/METALS MEETING

On June 20th, 2023, UNM hosted a 2.5h in-person meeting at the request of leadership within the EPA OLEM (Office of Land and Emergency Management). The over 50-person meeting included grassroots community groups, tribal leaders, EPA, NMELC (New Mexico Environmental Law Center), NMED (New Mexico Environment Dept.), NNEPA (Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency), and focused on environmental health issues surrounding cleanup of abandoned U mines. The meeting was initiated and attended by Cliff Villa, Deputy Assistant Administrator for EPA OLEM.

METALS Researchers present at Annual SOT meeting

SOT 2023 POSTERS
 March 19–23, 2023, in Nashville, Tennessee

Title: Uptake and Toxicity of Respirable Polyester Fiber Particles following UV Weathering
Presenting Author: Eliane El Hayek
 
Title: Thinking Zinc: An Intervention to Address Environmental Metal Exposure on the Navajo Nation
Presenting Author: Erica Dashner.
 
Title: Zinc Supplementation Alters Tissue Distribution of Arsenic in Mus musculus with Corresponding Changes in Metal Transporters
Presenting Author: Jodi Schilz.
 
Title: Arsenic Acts as a Co-mutagen by Affecting the Somatic Mutations Imprinted by Ultraviolet Light
Presenting Author: Rachel Speer.
 
Adipocyte Number and Adipokine Secretion in the Bone Niche Shifts in Response to Tungsten Exposure in Both Nontumor and 4T1 Breast Tumor-Bearing BALB/c Mice
Presenting Author: Alicia Bolt

Utilizing a Human Lung Epithelial Cell Macrophage Co-culture Model to Assess the Effects of Environmental Toxicants In Vitro
Presenting Author: Alicia Bolt
 
Identification and Quantitation of Microplastics Exposure in Human Placenta
Presenting Author: Eliane El Hayek
 
Sex-Dependent Inflammatory Sequelae and Mechanisms following Acute Wood Smoke Exposure
Presenting Author: Kathrine Zychowski
 
Neurotoxicity Is Sex-Dependent following Acute Wood Smoke Exposure
Presenting Author: Kathrine Zychowski
 
Immune Surveillance and Exploratory Molecular Pathway Analysis in Miners: A Rural-Based Pilot Study
Presenting Author: Kathrine Zychowski
 
Arsenic (+III Oxidation State) Methyltransferase Is an Important Mediator of Arsenite-Induced Hematotoxicity in Male Mice
Presenting Author: Laura Santos-Medina
 
Impacts of Polystyrene Microplastics on the Growth, Survival, and Macrophage Differentiation of Human THP-1 Monocytes
Presenting Author: Kaitlin Martin


Longitudinal Study of Carcinogenic Metals in Navajo Children from the Navajo Birth Cohort Study
Presenting Author: Rayna Vue
 
Urinary Arsenic, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, and Metal Exposure and Risk of Stroke
Presenting Author: Humairat Rahman
 
Arsenic, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, and Metal Exposure and Association of Cancers among Women
Presenting Author: Humairat Rahman
NEW PUBLICATIONS

Erdei E, Zhou X, Shuey C, Ass' ad N, Page K, Gore B, Zhu C, Kanda D, Luo L, Sood A, Zychowski KE. Serum autoantibodies and exploratory molecular pathways in rural miners: A pilot study. Journal of Translational Autoimmunity. 2023 Mar 9:100197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtauto.2023.100197

Portman TA, Granath A, Mann MA, El Hayek E, Herzer K, Cerrato JM, Rudgers JA. Characterization of root-associated fungi and reduced plant growth in soils from a New Mexico uranium mine. Mycologia. 2023 Mar 3:1-3. https://doi.org/10.1080/00275514.2022.2156746

El Hayek E, Castillo E, In JG, Garcia M, Cerrato J, Brearley A, Gonzalez-Estrella J, Herbert G, Bleske B, Benavidez A, Hsiao H. Photoaging of polystyrene microspheres causes oxidative alterations to surface physicochemistry and enhances airway epithelial toxicity. Toxicological Sciences. 2023 Mar 7:kfad023. https://doi.org/10.1093/toxsci/kfad023

Liu Z, Lin Y, Hoover J, Beene D, Charley PH, Singer N. Individual level spatial-temporal modelling of exposure potential of livestock in the Cove Wash watershed, Arizona. Annals of GIS. 2023 Jan 2;29(1):87-107. https://doi.org/10.1080/19475683.2022.2075935

SAVE THE DATE!
METALS Community Partner, Red Water Pond Road, and Pipeline Road Communities invite you to the Annual Commemoration and Uranium Legacy Remembrance and Action Day on July 15th, 2023.

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.