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Endogenous concentrations of biologically relevant metals in rat brain and cochlea determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

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Abstract

Manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) are essential nutrients which aid in the proper functioning of cells, but high concentrations of these metals can be toxic to various organs. Little is known about the endogenous concentrations of these metals in the cochlea, the auditory portion of the inner ear which is extremely small and difficult to access. To fill this gap, a trace quantitative digestion and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry method was developed to determine the concentrations of these metals in the stria vascularis, organ of Corti, and spiral ganglion, three critically important parts of the cochlea (≤1.5 mg); these values were compared to those in specific brain regions (≤20 mg) of rats. Rats were sacrificed and the cochlea and brain regions were carefully isolated, digested, and analyzed to determine baseline concentrations of Mn, Fe, Cu, and Zn. In the cochlea, Mn, Fe, Cu, and Zn concentrations ranged from 3.2–6, 73–300, non-detect, and 13–200 µg/g respectively. In the brain, Mn, Fe, Cu, and Zn concentrations ranged from 1.3–2.72, 21–120, 5.0–10.6, and 33–47 µg/g respectively. Significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed between the tissue types within the cochlea, and between the cochlea and brain. This validated method provides the first quantitative assessment of these metals in the three key subdivisions of the cochlea compared to the levels in the brain; Mn, Fe, and Zn levels were considerably higher in the cochlea than brain.

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Acknowledgments

Research supported by National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) award #R010HH010311-01. Stacia Wegst-Uhrich acknowledges her IGERT fellowship support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), grant #DGE-0654305, titled “Ecosystem Restoration through Interdisciplinary Exchange” Traineeship Program. We acknowledge the NSF Major Research Instrumentation Program CHE0959565 for the ICP-MS. We are grateful to the Colón lab for the use of the microbalance.

Conflict of interest

The authors state that they have no conflicts of interest that affect the objectivity of this publication.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, 14260, USA

    Stacia R. Wegst-Uhrich, Elizabeth J. Mullin & Diana S. Aga

  2. Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, China

    Dalian Ding

  3. Department of Communicative Disorders and Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, 14214, USA

    Dalian Ding & Richard Salvi

  4. Center for Hearing and Deafness, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, 14214, USA

    Senthilvelan Manohar

  5. Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University at Buffalo, 11 Cary Hall, Buffalo, NY, 14214, USA

    Jerome A. Roth

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  1. Stacia R. Wegst-Uhrich
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Correspondence to Jerome A. Roth.

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Wegst-Uhrich, S.R., Mullin, E.J., Ding, D. et al. Endogenous concentrations of biologically relevant metals in rat brain and cochlea determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Biometals 28, 187–196 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10534-014-9814-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10534-014-9814-8

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