title: Effect of methyl mercury exposure on the uptake of radiolabeled inorganic mercury in the brain of rabbits.
abstract: Exposure to mercuric compounds at high dose levels has previously been shown to alter the integrity and function of the blood-brain barrier in laboratory animals. In the present study, we have investigated the distribution of intravenously administered inorganic 203Hg in rabbits additionally exposed to MeHg. A single dose of 203HgCl2 was administered together with or 5 min. or 24 hr after administration of a single dose (10 or 37.5 mumol/kg b.wt.) of MeHg. In another experiment, 203HgCl2 was administered to rabbits subchronically exposed to MeHg (1 mumol/kg b.wt. daily for three weeks) 24 hr after cessation of treatment. The integrity of the blood-brain barrier was assayed by measuring the uptake of 203Hg in the brain, as the blood-brain barrier usually serves to exclude inorganic Hg from the brain. The concentration of 203Hg within the brain was similar in all MeHg-treated rabbits, corresponding to 0.02% of the administered dose, and not different from that of control animals. Under these conditions, no obvious damage to the blood-brain barrier by MeHg could be observed.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dock
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mottet
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vahter
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier / Q000187:drug effects; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D007668:Kidney / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008627:Mercuric Chloride / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D008631:Mercury Radioisotopes; D008767:Methylmercury Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011817:Rabbits
chemical_list: D008631:Mercury Radioisotopes; D008767:Methylmercury Compounds; D008627:Mercuric Chloride