Zinc and N-acetylcysteine modify mercury distribution and promote increase in hepatic metallothionein levels |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Post-Graduate Course in Biological Science - Toxicological Biochemistry, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, RS, Brazil;2. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, RS, Brazil;1. Department of Biology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA;2. Department of Biomedical Sciences, Mercer University, Macon, GA, USA;1. Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Maryland at Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland, USA;2. Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Hunan, China;1. Department of Chemical Biology, Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Wrocław, F. Joliot-Curie 14a, 50-383 Wrocław, Poland;2. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Mendel University in Brno, Zemedelska 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic;3. Central European Institute of Technology, Brno University of Technology, Purkynova 123, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic;1. Department of Physiological Sciences, Federal University of Espirito Santo, Vitoria, ES, Brazil;2. Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Espirito Santo, Vitoria, ES, Brazil;3. Heart Institute (InCor), University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil;4. Department of Nephrology (LIM-12), University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil |
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| Abstract: | This study investigated the ability of zinc (Zn) and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in preventing the biochemical alterations caused by mercury (Hg) and the retention of this metal in different organs. Adult female rats received ZnCl2 (27 mg/kg) and/or NAC (5 mg/kg) or saline (0.9%) subcutaneously and after 24 h they received HgCl2 (5 mg/kg) or saline (0.9%). Twenty-four hours after, they were sacrificed and analyses were performed. Hg inhibited hepatic, renal, and blood δ-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (δ-ALA-D) activity, decreased renal total thiol levels, as well as increased serum creatinine and urea levels and aspartate aminotransferase activity. HgCl2-exposed groups presented an important retention of Hg in all the tissues analyzed. All pre-treatments demonstrated tendency in preventing hepatic δ-ALA-D inhibition, whereas only ZnCl2 showed this effect on blood enzyme. Moreover, the combination of these compounds completely prevented liver and blood Hg retention. The exposure to Zn and Hg increased hepatic metallothionein levels. These results show that Zn and NAC presented promising effects against the toxicity caused by HgCl2. |
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| Keywords: | Metallothionein Total SH Non-protein SH δ-Aminolevulinic acid dehydratase Mercury |
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