In vitro Study of Embryotoxic and Dysmorphogenic Effects of Mercuric Chloride and Methylmercury Chloride in the Rat

摘要

Rat-embryo explants removed on day 10.5 of gestation were cultured for 48 hr in various concentrations of HgCl2 CH3HgCl or glutathione. Dose-related dysmorhogenesis and growth retardation occurred with increasing concentrations of HgCl2 (1-10 micro M). Increasing concentrations of CH3HgCl (3-100 micro M) produced a similar pattern of embryonic effects. The rat-serum incubation medium had no detectable level of reduced glutathione (0.02 mM) and only 0.12 mM total sulphydryl groups. Reduced glutathione (60-300 micro M) added to the incubation medium was relatively non-toxic. The addition of exogenous glutathione to culture medium containing HgCl2 partially antagonized the embryonic growth retardation and prevented most of the embryolethality observed in cultures to which only HgCl2 had been added.