Abstract
Arsenic is one of the most important environmental agents causing chronic human diseases. Many arsenic species undergo metabolism; and the toxicities of the various arsenic metabolites vary by several orders of magnitude (Moe et al., J. Environ. Sci. 2016). To study metabolism of arsenic species, the speaker and his collaborator have developed methods of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) separation and simultaneous detection with both inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS) and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS). This methodology enables identification and quantitation of individual arsenic species present in various environmental media and biological systems (Liu et al., ES&T 2018; Peng et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2017；Liu et al., TrAC 2018). In this lecture, the speaker will describe his recent studies of arsenic metabolism using mass spectrometry.
Chronic exposure to arsenic is associated with a wide variety of adverse health effects, including bladder, lung, and skin cancers. The mechanisms of arsenic carcinogenesis are complicated and are not fully understood. To understand effects of arsenic on enzymatic repair of DNA damage, the speaker studies arsenic binding to cellular proteins. The trivalent arsenic species have high affinity for free sulfhydryl groups in proteins. Arsenic binding to a specific site of the protein could alter the conformation and function of the protein as well as its recruitment of and interaction with other functional proteins [Shen et al. Chem. Rev. 2013]. He summarizes various aspects of arsenic binding to proteins, demonstrates mass spectrometry techniques for the characterization of arsenic binding, and discusses the chemical basis, biological implications, and consequences of arsenic binding to proteins.
About the speaker
Prof. X. Chris Le received his PhD in Environmental/Analytical Chemistry from the University of British Columbia in 1993. He then joined the faculty of University of Alberta, where he is now the Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology.
Prof. Le’s research focuses on the chemical speciation studies of metalloids (such as arsenic, antimony, and selenium) and heavy metals (such as mercury, lead, and cadmium) in the environment and biological systems, in view of their important impact on the environment and potential health risk.
Prof. Le received numerous awards including the Beijing Conference and Exhibition on Instrumental Analysis (BCEIA) Outstanding Contribution Award (2015); the Maxxam Award by Canadian Society for Chemistry (2011); the Environment Division Research and Development Dima Award by the Chemical Institute of Canada (2011) and the Outstanding Overseas Scientist Award by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (2007). He was also elected a Fellow of the UK Royal Society of Chemistry (2016) and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (2010).
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