The chronic toxicity of aluminium, cadmium, mercury, and lead in birds: a review.

Mercury is unique among the heavy metals in that it can exist in several physical and chemical forms, including elemental mercury, which is a liquid at room temperature. All forms of mercury have toxic effects in a number of organs, especially in the kidneys. Within the kidney, the pars recta of the proximal tubule is the most vulnerable segment of the nephron to the toxic effects of mercury. The biological and toxicological activity of mercurous and mercuric ions in the kidney can be defined largely by the molecular interactions that occur at critical nucleophilic sites in and around target cells. Because of the high bonding affinity between mercury and sulfur, there is particular interest in the interactions that occur between mercuric ions and the thiol group(s) of proteins, peptides and amino acids. Molecular interactions with sulfhydryl groups in molecules of albumin, metallothionein, glutathione, and cysteine have been implicated in mechanisms involved in the proximal tubular uptake, accumulation, transport, and toxicity of mercuric ions. In addition, the susceptibility of target cells in the kidneys to the injurious effects of mercury is modified by a number of intracellular and extracellular factors relating to several thiol-containing molecules. These very factors are the theoretical basis for most of the currently employed therapeutic strategies. This review provides an update on the current body of knowledge regarding the molecular interactions that occur between mercury and various thiol-containing molecules with respect to the mechanisms involved in the renal cellular uptake, accumulation, elimination, and toxicity of mercury.

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Molecular Interactions with Mercury in the Kidney

Mercury and selenium interaction: A review

The impact of shift and night work on health

Dose-response effects of various metal ions on rat liver metallothionein, glutathione, heme oxygenase, and cytochrome P-450

Binding of mercury in the rat kidney by metallothionein

Binding of mercury in the rat: Studies using 203HgCl2 and gel filtration☆

Rats were injected subcutaneously with either cadmium chloride (0.5 mg Cd/kg) or mercuric chloride (0.5 and 0.25 mg Hg/kg) every other day over a period of 6 to 7 weeks. Levels of metals and metallothionein were determined in liver and kidneys. Both cadmium and metallothionein accumulated in these organs during the period of exposure. Mercury and metallothionein accumulated only in the kidneys. Mercury did not accumulate in the liver, nor did it cause an increase of metallothionein in the liver. The molar ratio of 1.6 (metal to metallothionein) in liver was constant for cadmium. In the kidneys this ratio varied from 1 to 3 for both metals, depending on the level of the metal; This ratio was 0.1 for liver mercury.

Binding of cadmium and mercury by metallothionein in the kidneys and liver of rats following repeated administration

Determinations of mercury in urine were made in samples collected from workers that were: (a) exposed prior to sampling — urine has been sampled over 3 weeks' post-exposure period; (b) currently exposed — sampling on consecutive days of the working week; (c) currently exposed —urine sampled over 24 hrs, during working shift (morning or afternoon) and off work.

Barbara Trojanowska

Papers

Binding of mercury in the rat kidney by metallothionein

Binding of mercury in the rat: Studies using 203HgCl2 and gel filtration☆

Binding of cadmium and mercury by metallothionein in the kidneys and liver of rats following repeated administration

Excretion kinetics and variability of urinary mercury in workers exposed to mercury vapour.

The influence of thioacetamide on the excretion of mercury in rats.