Toxic effects of mercuric sulfide on immune organs in mice.
Mercuric sulfide (HgS) is a major component of cinnabar, which has been used as a sedative drug in China for more than 2000 years. Because its toxicological effects are still unclear, we attempted to verify the toxic effects of HgS, focused on liver and immune organs such as the spleen and thymus. Male ICR mice were administered HgS (0.02, 0.2, 2.0 g/kg/day) by gavage for 4 weeks. During the administration period, HgS-treated mice did not reveal overt signs of clinical toxicity. HgS had no significant effect on body weight, food consumption, water consumption, and organ weights. In spite of its known insolubility, HgS was absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract and accumulated in the liver, spleen and thymus in a dose-dependent manner. In the biochemical and histological examination, HgS did not cause hepatotoxicity. However, HgS significantly increased both CD8(+) T lymphocytes and CD4(+)CD8(+) lymphocyte populations in the spleen without changing in the thymus. In the histological evaluation, HgS induced enlargement with marked hyperplasia and increase of lymphoid follicles in the spleen. In addition, HgS induced the gene expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the spleen and thymus. Our results suggest that insoluble HgS was absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract, accumulated in the spleen and thymus, and thus could affect immune systems.
Son
Hee-Young
HY
Cell and Matrix Research Institute, Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Republic of Korea.
Lee
Soyoung
S
Park
Seung-Bin
SB
Kim
Mi-Sun
MS
Choi
Eun-Ju
EJ
Singh
Thoudam S K
TS
Bae
Yunju
Y
Kwack
Seung Jun
SJ
Kang
Tae Seok
TS
Shin
Hong-In
HI
Baek
Moon-Chang
MC
Kim
Sang-Hyun
SH
D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D056486:Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D016207:Cytokines / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000378:metabolism; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000187:drug effects; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D017669:Mercury Compounds / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000633:toxicity*; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013154:Spleen / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D014018:Tissue Distribution
D016207:Cytokines; D017669:Mercury Compounds; C034211:cinnabar