title: Studies of the in vitro effect of methylmercury chloride on rat brain neurotransmitter enzymes.
abstract: The in vitro effect of methylmercury (MM) on the enzymatic activities of brain cell specific marker enzymes, choline acetyltransferase (CAT), glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide phosphohydrolase (CNP), glutamine synthetase (GS) and enolase was examined. The results demonstrate that at 100 microM MM, GS activity was not affected whereas a small decrease in the activity of both GAD (20%) and enolase (10%) was observed. CNP and CAT activity appeared to be more sensitive toward MM with 100 microM MM producing inhibition of 50% and 30%, respectively. The addition of sulfhydryl protecting reagents such as DTT or sodium thioglycolate can restore the enzyme activities to normal control levels despite prior exposure of the enzymes to MM.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology*; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D008767:Methylmercury Compounds / Q000633:toxicity*; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013439:Sulfhydryl Reagents / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D008767:Methylmercury Compounds; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents; D013439:Sulfhydryl Reagents; C004925:methylmercuric chloride