Skip Navigation



ToxSci Advance Access published online on August 6, 2008
Toxicological Sciences, doi:10.1093/toxsci/kfn158
This Article
Right arrow Advance Access manuscript (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
106/1/180    most recent
kfn158v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Carvalho, M. C.
Right arrow Articles by Muller, Y. M.R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Carvalho, M. C.
Right arrow Articles by Muller, Y. M.R.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Toxicology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Behavioral, Morphological and Biochemical Changes after in ovo Exposure to Methylmercury in Chicks

Márcia C. Carvalho*,{dagger}, Evelise M. Nazari*, Marcelo Farina{ddagger} and Yara M.R. Muller1,2

* Departamento de Biologia Celular, Embriologia e Genética, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, 88090-400, Santa Catarina, Brazil {dagger} Departamento de Ciências Naturais, Centro de Ciências Naturais e Exatas, Fundação Universidade Regional de Blumenau, Blumenau, 89012-900, Santa Catarina, Brazil {ddagger} Departamento de Bioquímica, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, 88090-400, Santa Catarina, Brazil

1 Corresponding author Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Depto BEG-CCB, Florianópolis, 88090-400, Santa Catarina, Brazil. TN.: 55 (48) 3721-9799; Fax: 55 (48) 3721-5148. E-mail: yararm{at}ccb.ufsc.br.

Received June 16, 2008; revision received July 23, 2008; accepted July 23, 2008


  Abstract

Methylmercury (MeHg) is an environmental pollutant known to induce neurotoxicity in several animal species, including humans. However, studies focusing the effects of MeHg poisoning in chicks were based on phenomenological approaches and did not delve into the molecular mechanisms. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the post-natal consequences of the in ovo exposure to MeHg on behavioral, morphological and biochemical parameters in chicks. At the fifth embryonic day (E5), Gallus domesticus eggs were submitted to a single injection of 0.1 µg MeHg/0.05 ml saline. After treatment, the eggs returned to the incubator until hatching (E21). From first to fifth post-natal days (PN1–PN5), the MeHg-treated chicks showed lower frequency of exploratory movements and a significantly higher frequency of wing and anomalous movements. Cerebellar glutathione (GSH) levels and the activities of the GSH-related enzymes glutathione reductase (GR) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were significantly higher (70, 72 and 80 %, respectively) in MeHg exposed chicks in comparison to controls. Mercury impregnation was densest in the granular layer, followed by the Purkinje and molecular layers of treated chicks. A significant reduction of the number of Purkinje cells, as well as a greater distance between these cells were observed in chicks of MeHg-group. Our results disclose that the pre-hatching exposure to MeHg induced motor impairments, which were correlated to histological damage and alterations on the cerebellar glutathione system's development from PN 1 – PN 5.

Key Words: Methylmercury; Gallus domesticus; embryo; behavior; glutathione; cerebellar cortex.

2 Marcelo Farina and Yara Maria Rauh Müller contributed equally to this work.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.