Dietary mercury exposure resulted in behavioral differences in mice contaminated with fish-associated methylmercury compared to methylmercury chloride added to diet.
Methylmercury (MeHg) is a potent neurotoxin, and humans are mainly exposed to this pollutant through fish consumption. However, in classical toxicological studies, pure methylmercury chloride (MeHgCl) is injected, given to drink or incorporated within feed assuming that its effects are identical to those of MeHg naturally associated to fish. In the present study, we wanted to address the question whether a diet containing MeHg associated to fish could result in observable adverse effects in mice as compared to a diet containing the same concentration of MeHg added pure to the diet and whether beneficial nutriments from fish were able to counterbalance the deleterious effects of fish-associated mercury, if any. After two months of feeding, the fish-containing diet resulted in significant observable effects as compared to the control and MeHg-containing diets, encompassing altered behavioral performances as monitored in a Y-shaped maze and an open field, and an increased dopamine metabolic turnover in hippocampus, despite the fact that the fish-containing diet was enriched in polyunsaturated fatty acids and selenium compared to the fish-devoid diets.
Bordeaux University-CNRS, UMR EPOC 5805, Arcachon Marine Station, Place du Docteur Peyneau, 33120 Arcachon, France.
Jean-Paul
JP
Bourdineaud
Masumi
M
Marumoto
Akira
A
Yasutake
Masatake
M
Fujimura
D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D004032:Diet; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D005399:Fishes / Q000378:metabolism*; D005506:Food Contamination; D018782:Maze Learning; D008628:Mercury / Q000633:toxicity*; D055442:Metabolome; D008767:Methylmercury Compounds / Q000633:toxicity*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents / Q000378:metabolism; D009928:Organ Specificity / Q000187:drug effects; D012643:Selenium / Q000378:metabolism
D008767:Methylmercury Compounds; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents; D008628:Mercury; D012643:Selenium; C004925:methylmercuric chloride