Manganese (Mn) is an essential dietary nutrient but excess or accumulations can be toxic. Disease states, like manganism, are associated with overexposure or accumulation of Mn and are due to the production of reactive oxygen species, free radicals and toxic metabolites, alteration of mitochondrial function and ATP production and depletion of cellular antioxidant defense mechanisms. This review focuses on all of the preceding mechanisms and the scientific studies that support them as well as provides an overview of the absorption, distribution, and excretion of Mn and the stability and transport of Mn compounds in the body.

Metals can have a number of detrimental or beneficial effects in the cell, but first they must get in. Organisms have evolved transport mechanisms to get metals that are required, or essential into the cell. Nonessential metals often enter the cell through use of the machinery provided for essential metals. Much work has been done to advance our understanding of how these metals are transported across the plasma and organelle membranes. This review provides an overview of these metal transport processes.

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The model species, Caenorhabditis elegans, has been used as a tool to probe for mechanisms underlying numerous neurodegenerative diseases. This use has been exploited to study neurodegeneration induced by metals. The allure of the nematode comes from the ease of genetic manipulation, the ability to fluorescently label neuronal subtypes, and the relative simplicity of the nervous system. Notably, C. elegans have approximately 60–80% of human genes and contain genes involved in metal homeostasis and transport, allowing for the study of metal-induced degeneration in the nematode. This review discusses methods to assess degeneration as well as outlines techniques for genetic manipulation and presents a comprehensive survey of the existing literature on metal-induced degeneration studies in the worm.