title: The effects of mild congenital methylmercury intoxication on the metabolism of 3-hydroxybutyrate and glucose in the brains of suckling rats.
abstract: 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.
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D006885:Hydroxybutyrates; D008767:Methylmercury Compounds; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D007930:Leucine; D005947:Glucose; D020155:3-Hydroxybutyric Acid