S. Stern et al., Perinatal and lifetime exposure to methylmercury in the mouse: Blood and brain concentrations of mercury to 26 months of age, NEUROTOXICO, 22(4), 2001, pp. 467-477
Chronic, low-level exposures to environmental toxicants, because they often
begin prenatally and then persist throughout the individual's lifetime, po
se challenging issues to risk assessment. Exposure to low levels of methylm
ercury through the diet, based largely on consumption of fish and sea mamma
ls, follows this pattern. Early development is considered to be a period of
heightened vulnerability during which even low-level exposures may produce
undetected, "silent", damage that is revealed only under conditions that c
hallenge the functional capacities of the individual. Aging, with its dimin
ished functional capacities and compensatory reserves provides such a chall
enge, but, to explore this possibility, requires basic information about bl
ood and brain levels under conditions of chronic lifetime exposure. The cur
rent research was undertaken to provide such information. One hundred femal
e B6C3F(1)/HSD mice were assigned to one of three dose groups, 0. 1, or 3 p
pm methylmercury chloride administered in a 5 nM sodium carbonate drinking
solution. They were bred with male CBA/J HSD mice to produce the trihybrid
offspring B6C3F(1)/ HSD x CBA/J HSD. Dosing of the females began 4 weeks pr
ior to breeding and continued for the two methylmercury-exposed groups thro
ughout breeding and gestation. The methylmercury-treated litters were split
into two subgroups, one exposed throughout its lifetime (set at 26 months)
to the original dose, the other exposed through postnatal day 13 (PND 13).
Brain and blood concentrations were assayed by cold-vapor atomic absorptio
n. Samples were obtained on PND 4 and 21, and then at the end of months 14
and 26. On PND 4, brain and blood levels closely reflected maternal dosing.
In all groups, concentrations fell sharply from PND 4 to 21, but to a grea
ter extent in the perinatal groups. Blood levels in the I ppm lifetime grou
p remained unchanged between months 14 and 26, but brain levels rose modest
ly. In the 3 ppm lifetime group, both brain and blood levels rose significa
ntly between months 14 and 26, suggesting an interaction between dose and a
ge. (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science Inc.