Manganese accumulation in red blood cells as a biomarker of manganese exposure and neurotoxicity

Although overexposure to manganese (Mn) is known to cause neurotoxic damage, effective exposure markers for assessing Mn loading in Mn-exposed workers are lacking. Here, we construct a Mn-exposed rat model to perform correlation analysis between Mn-induced neurological damage and Mn levels in various biological samples. We combine this analysis with epidemiological investigation to assess whether Mn concentrations in red blood cells (MnRBCs) and urine (MnU) can be used as valid exposure markers. The results show that Mn exposure resulted in neurotoxic damage in rats and that MnRBCs correlated well with neurological damage, showing potential as a novel Mn exposure biomarker. These findings provide a basis for health monitoring of Mn-exposed workers and the development of more appropriate biological exposure limits. [Display omitted] •Mn exposure reduces motor and learning memory abilities in rats.•Compared with the MnU, the MnRBCs distinguishes between exposure and non-exposure.•Compared with the MnU, the MnRBCs is also a good indicator of external exposure dose.•MnRBCs correlates well with nerve damage and has great potential as a new effective exposure biomarker.