The effects of mild congenital methylmercury intoxication on the metabolism of 3-hydroxybutyrate and glucose in the brains of suckling rats.
We studied the effects of mild congenital methylmercury toxicity upon intermediary metabolism in the developing brain. Female rats were injected intravenously with 10 mg/kg methylmercury chloride on the 4th day of impregnation. Controls received saline. At postnatal days 1, 7, 14 and 21, pup brain slices were incubated with either 3-hydroxy[3-14C]butyrate or [U-14C] glucose. The rate of oxidation of 3-hydroxybutyrate was significantly reduced at days 14 and 21 in the methylmercury-treated pups. There was a marked reduction in the incorporation of label from both substrates into total brain lipids during the most rapid phase of myelination. Incorporation of 14C from [U-14C] glucose into proteins was decreased at all ages. Since there was no decrease in the incorporation of [1-14C]leucine into proteins in the methylmercury-treated pups, this decrease could have resulted from changes in pool sizes of certain amino acids in the brain.
D020155:3-Hydroxybutyric Acid; D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D000833:Animals, Suckling; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D006885:Hydroxybutyrates / Q000378:metabolism*; D007930:Leucine / Q000378:metabolism; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D008767:Methylmercury Compounds / Q000506:poisoning*; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
D006885:Hydroxybutyrates; D008767:Methylmercury Compounds; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D007930:Leucine; D005947:Glucose; D020155:3-Hydroxybutyric Acid