Abstract
It has been reported that methyl mercury (MeHg) administered to animals is biotransformed to inorganic mercury. Several studies have presented that there are two degradation process, by intestinal microflora and by animal tissues themselves. In a previous paper, the authors reported the biotransformation of MeHg in the rat was enhanced by phenylhydrazine administration, and inhibited by splenectomy or treatment with carrageenan (CAR). They suggested that spleen and liver might be the important sites for formation of inorganic mercury, and that reticuloendothelial system (RES) cells in these organs might play a major role in this biotransformation. The clearance activity of RES cells, mainly located in the liver and spleen, can be depressed by saturating those cells with CAR, colloidal carbon (CC), trypan blue (TB), colloidal iron (CFe), dextran sulfate, silica. The purpose of this study is to confirm the relationship between RES function and biotransformation of MeHg by using four representative blockers, CC, TB, CFe and CAR. The inhibited biotransformation of MeHg in RES-blocker-treated rats was evaluated by measuring the amount of total and inorganic mercury in tissues. On the other hand, RES cell activity was measured by carbon clearance tests.
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