Distribution, tissue binding and toxicity of mercurials

Identification and partial characterization of a glycoprotein species with high affinity for methylmercury in peripheral nervous tissues of man and experimental animals

A small amount of a glycoprotein species (21-kDa glycoprotein) with high affinity for methylmercury (MeHg) was detected in the post-nuclear or post-mitochondrial supernatant fraction of the homogenate of rat sciatic nerve on electrophoresis and autoradiography after binding of Me203Hg to the fraction. The 21-kDa glycoprotein was also found in the subcellular fractions of mouse, hamster, guinea pig, rabbit and human peripheral nervous tissues. Experiments with the cellular fractions of the tissues revealed that the 21-kDa glycoprotein is localized mainly in the myelin fraction, whereas it was not found in the cellular fractions of brain, spinal cord and nonneural tissues, such as kidney and liver. The specific binding activity of the 21-kDa glycoprotein with MeHg was 12-15 fold that of the major myelin protein, Po. It was shown that the interaction of the 21-kDa glycoprotein with MeHg was mediated through sulfhydryl groups in experiments with iodoacetamide and dithiothreitol. The amino acid compositions of the rat and human 21-kDa glycoproteins were similar but very different from that of a typical metallothionein. The N-terminal amino acid sequences of the two components of the rat 21-kDa glycoprotein were identical to those of P0 and PMP-22, respectively. The in vitro binding of MeHg was also observed in the myelin fraction obtained from the sciatic nerves of MeHg-dosed rats.

Interactions of mercury in rat brain

In order to study the metabolism of mercury (Hg), its affinity to metallothionein (MT), and its influence on levels of the essential metals copper and zinc in the brain tissue of rats exposed to elemental mercury (HgO) vapor was investigated. The major findings were: 1. After long-term exposure, about 40% of mercury was found in the brain water-soluble phase (supernatant); 2. In brain supernatant, about 80% of Hg was found in the range of low-molecular-weight proteins; the MT-like protein Hg-Cu-Zn-thionein was isolated and partially characterized; 3. HgO vapor exposure resulted in increased tissue levels of essential Cu and Zn in addition to exogenous Hg; and 4. Experiments showed that HgO vapor exposure can induce the stimulation of rat brain MT synthesis.

Radiopharmaceuticals for studying cardiac metabolism

(1) Metabolism is the link between myocardial blood flow and physiological performance of the heart. (2) Metabolic myocardial radiopharmaceuticals have the potential to identify metabolic alterations unique to a given intrinsic cardiac disease (e.g. cardiomyopathies), to assess acute metabolic changes or in delineating a specific chronic metabolic defect (e.g. coronary artery disease). (3) Two approaches can be employed to evaluate in vivo myocardial utilization of subtracts: (a) use of radiolabeled "physiologic" substrates e.g. positron emitting 11C-palmitic acid was successfully employed for assessing the in vivo metabolic sequelae of myocardial ischemia, infarction and cardiomyopathies, and (b) use of modified tracers which enter known metabolic pathways. However, because of their unique structure, metabolism of the tracer stops at a certain state thus leaving the radiolabel trapped in the cell, e.g. [18F]FDG for measuring glucose metabolic rate in the human brain and myocardium. (4) Among the radiopharmaceuticals for planar and single photon tomography, the para and the ortho isomers of 123I-phenyl iodoheptadecanoic acids and their beta-methyl derivatives are the most promising tracers for myocardial metabolic studies. (5) Ortho-(123I-phenyl)-pentadecanoic acid (o-IPPA) human myocardial uptake was rapidly and markedly elevated in well perfused segments; myocardial turnover was strikingly prolonged, suggesting some "trapping" phenomenon, resulting in excellent scintigrams. This is in contrast to the relatively shorter clearance of the para isomer from the myocardium. (6) 11C-Palmitic acid and [18F]FDG are the most widely used for PET scanning for following myocardial metabolism. The most important clinical application of these agents is predicting viability of ischemic myocardium. (7) A significant proportion of fixed perfusion defects seen on thallium studies can be demonstrated to be viable myocardium on PET scans using metabolic agents. If the markers of perfusion alone are relied on to assess tissue viability, the extent of salvageable myocardium may be underestimated. The demonstration of myocardial viability is crucial in the decision of the optimal treatment of the disease.

Chelation in metal intoxication. XIX. alpha-Mercapto-beta-aryl acrylic acid as antidotes to nickel and lead toxicity

In view of the reported effectiveness of alpha-mercapto-beta-(2-furyl) acrylic acid (MFA) as an effective antidote to inorganic mercury toxicity, some alpha-mercapto-beta-aryl acrylic acids were synthesized and examined for their efficacy in counteracting nickel and lead intoxication in rats. alpha-mercapto-beta-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)acrylic acid (MDA) was most effective and other compounds were less but about equally effective in enhancing urinary excretion and in reducing tissue concentration of Ni. MDA was the only compound to remove Ni from the brain. MFA was also more effective than other structurally related compounds in enhancing urinary and faecal excretion and in lowering body burden of Pb. All the compounds significantly reduced the inhibition of the activity of blood delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (delta-ALA-D) and increase in the urinary excretion of delta-aminolevulinic acid (delta-ALA) caused by Pb. The results do not show any relationship between the nature of the substitution at the beta-position of alpha-mercapto acrylic acids and their ability to reduce the concentration and the toxic effects of the two metals. However, these thiol chelating agents appear promising as antidotes to Ni and Pb poisoning.

A proton nuclear magnetic resonance study of the interaction of mercury with intact human erythrocytes

The binding of mercuric ion (Hg(II)) by small molecules in the intracellular region of intact human erythrocytes has been studied by 1H-NMR spectroscopy. HgCl2 added to intact erythrocytes in saline-glucose suspension is found to cross the membrane and reach an equilibrium distribution among the molecules of the erythrocyte within 4 min. In the intracellular region Hg(II) reacts with GSH and hemoglobin to form the ternary mixed-ligand complex GSH-Hg(II)-hemoglobin. The analogous complex with ergothioneine is formed after all the GSH is complexed. 1H-NMR spectra show that the GSH-Hg(II)-hemoglobin complex also forms in simpler solutions containing HgCl2, GSH and hemoglobin, whereas the complex Hg(GSH)2 predominates in solutions of GSH and HgCl2. The lifetime of the GSH in the GSH-Hg(II)-hemoglobin complex is shown to be less than 30 s, which provides direct evidence for the first time that Hg(II) complexes in biological systems are quite labile, even though their thermodynamic stability is large. The effectiveness of eight sulfhydryl-containing ligands, some of which have been used as antidotes for Hg(II) poisoning, for releasing GSH from its Hg(II) complex in hemolyzed erythrocytes was also studied. Dithiol ligands were found to be more effective than monothiols, with dithioerythritol the most effective of the dithiols.

Tissue reactions to implanted dental amalgam, including assessment by energy dispersive x-ray micro-analysis

Dental amalgam, either in the form of a solid rod or as a fine powder was implanted subcutaneously into guinea-pigs and the tissue reactions were examined after varying time periods. The solid rods were enclosed by fibrous capsules within which only extremely limited breakdown occurred. This appears to result from electrolytic corrosion of the gamma 2 (SnHg) phase of the rod's surface. Powdered amalgam induced granulomata and most of the particles of amalgam were actively digested by macrophages and giant cells. This resulted in the progressive loss of mercury and tin from the lesion and the formation of minute particles containing silver and sulphur which became widely distributed throughout the lesion, being associated with basal lamina, collagen and elastic tissue and giving rise to the formation of a tattoo. In contrast, some particles of amalgam, too large to be interiorised, were encapsulated by collagen and persisted almost unchanged. Intracellular small amalgam particles and aggregates of fine particles, resulting from their degradation, were seen within lymph node macrophages. It is extremely likely that the sequence of events leadng to the formation of an amalgam tattoo of the oral mucosa in Man are the same.

[Chronic mercury poisoning following topical application of skin bleachers (author's transl)]

In two female patients chronic mercurialism following topical application of skin bleachers for the treatment of freckles was diagnosed. Over 20 to 25 years 3 to 10% mercurial ointments were applied twice daily. Recurrent attacks of headache, dyspnoea and abdominal colic-like cramps had lead repeatedly to emergency hospitalisations, multiple medical check-ups and surgical exploratory procedures. The diagnosis of mercurialism was made clinically because of a slate-grayish skin hyperpigmentation in the presence of freckles, and the drug-history. Metallic deposits in facial biopsies were demonstrated by electron microscopy. On admission 15.4 microgram% and 5.0 microgram % total Hg respectively were found in the two patients (normal values up to 2.0 microgram %). Following D-penicillamine treatment the mercury excretion via the urine could be elevated up to 25 microgram %. Neither the slate-gray facial discoloration nor the neurasthenic complaints were affected by this therapeutic trial. In one patient, a maculo-papular drug-induced skin rash to D-penicillamine developed. Persistent unsolved neurological complaints and cramp-like abdominal pains should remind that percutaneous mercury intoxication through intact skin following skin bleachers is still possible today.

Combined effects in toxicology--a rapid systematic testing procedure: cadmium, mercury, and lead

A testing procedure is described for the assessment of the toxicological response (e.g., acute toxicity or mutagenicity) of any combination and number of chemical, physical, and biological agents, with no more effort for a particular combination than for a single agent. The method provides a simple, sensitive, and quantitative index of synergism, antagonism, and additivity, and it has been demonstrated experimentally in rats by determining the acute lethality of combinations of cadmium, mercury, and lead salts. In a combination of two metal salts, the dose of one metal of the pair was fixed at or near the no-effect level while the dose of the second metal was increased until the entire dose-response curve was obtained. To evaluate interactions of the three metals, the previous pair of metals were kept fixed at their combined extrapolated LD1 level, and the third metal was increased. The statistical treatment of the data employed a computer program that did not involve probit transformations, but rather the approximate linear relationship between the fractional response and the logarithm of the dose. A particular combination could be synergistic, antagonistic, or additive, depending on the relative doses employed. Generally, a combination was synergistic when the most toxic member was present at or near its LD1 dose in the presence of the much less toxic member; the same combination was protective when the least toxic member was present at or near its LD1 dose. The results clarify apparently contradictory reports regarding the biological effects of metal combinations. The application of the testing procedure to combinations of mutagens is described, and an example is cited involving, for a particular bacterial mutagen, a combination of N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine with ethylmethanesulfonate.

The effects of mercurial poisoning on the vestibular system

The sensory epithelium with adjacent nerve endings and the secretory epithelium may both become damaged following mercury chloride intoxication. Peripheral myelinated nerve fibres in the crista ampullaris showed signs of degeneration following chronic poisonins. Ultrastructural alterations of the vestibular hair cells initially occurred in animals free from clinical signs of intoxication. The sensory epithelium and occasionally the secretory cells were affected before signs of ultrastructural damage could be detected in the myelinated nerves.

The excretion and distribution of inorganic mercury in the rat as influenced by several chelating agents

Among 15 chelating agents tested, sodium-2,3-dimercaptopropane 1 sulfonate (DMPS), 2,3-dimercaptopropanol (BAL), sodium-mercaptoethyliminodiacetate (MEIDA), and D-penicillamine (PA) exerted an influence on the excretion of Hg and its distribution in the organs. The excretion pattern however, is different for these compounds, and, from the practical point of view, a favourable effect is exhibited only by DMPS which enhances the urinary excretion rate and lowers the Hg-concentration in all organs.