# Biomarkers and mechanisms of metal and mixed metal exposures

> **NIH NIH P42** · UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO HEALTH SCIS CTR · 2024 · $302,781

## Abstract

Project #1 – BioProject on Community Exposures (BP Comm) - SUMMARY
 With partnering Native American communities, the UNM Metals Exposure and Toxicity Assessment on
Tribal Lands in the Southwest (UNM METALS) team has obtained evidence for community level exposures
and health risks associated with more than 1100 abandoned uranium mine (AUM) waste sites on their tribal
lands. Biomonitoring results confirm that community members are exposed to uranium and other metals
beyond national norms, leading to concerns about potential impact on health. Based on published and
preliminary findings, we will test the hypothesis that exposure to the unique mixtures of environmental metals
associated with AUMs promotes oxidative stress and inflammatory response, processes known to promote
immune dysregulation and development of numerous chronic diseases. Furthermore, we hypothesize that
dietary mitigation strategies can be elucidated based on mechanisms of toxicity of specific metals and metal
mixtures. In Aim 1 we will work to delineate associations between metals detected by biomonitoring, and
biomarkers of oxidative stress, inflammation and immune modulation. The findings from Aim 1 are expected to
provide critical information on systemic consequences of environmental metal exposures. Although uranium
has been the focus of community concern, findings from the UNM METALS Environmental Projects and
human biomonitoring highlight that other toxic metals are prevalent in the environment and present at elevated
levels in the population. Experimental studies in Aim 2 will focus on oxidative stress generated by community-
relevant metals and metal mixtures as an underlying mechanism leading to alterations in inflammatory
response and immune modulation. We will select experimental endpoints and exposure patterns observed in
the community to optimize human relevance of Aim 2 studies. Detailed mechanistic analyses will be performed
to establish the basis for metal interactions including potential beneficial metal-metal interactions of the
antioxidant metal micronutrients (zinc/Zn and selenium/Se). Studies on Zn and Se interactions with toxic
metals and metal mixtures may inform tractable strategies for mitigating the adverse effects of environmental
metal exposures in human populations. This project is responsive to community concerns and the outcomes
are expected to 1) provide insights into biological consequences of understudied toxic metals identified in
environmental samples and elevated in biospecimens from the community, 2) expand mechanistic knowledge
of the impact of specific metals and metal mixtures as well as the basis for metal:metal interactions in human
immune cells, and 3) experimentally test the potential of mechanism-based interventions to confer protection
from environmental metal exposures. BP Comm addresses SRP mandates 1, 2 and 4: Detection and
Evaluation of Effects, Risk Assessment and Risk Reduction, respectively.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10890049
- **Project number:** 5P42ES025589-08
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO HEALTH SCIS CTR
- **Principal Investigator:** LAURIE G HUDSON
- **Activity code:** P42 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $302,781
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-08-15 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10890049

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10890049, Biomarkers and mechanisms of metal and mixed metal exposures (5P42ES025589-08). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10890049. Licensed CC0.

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