| Abstract: | Abstract The distribution and excretion of mercury was studied in mice given a single intravenous dose of 5 umol/kg of methyl mercuric chloride. Oral treatment with N–acetyl–DL–penicillamine (3 mmol/kg per day) removed more mercury from the brain and from the whole body than the corresponding treatment with other complexing agents, and it was also effective on delayed treatment. Even more mercury was removed into the faeces and the urine, by higher doses of N–acetyl–DL–penicillamine, and 4 days of treatment with 27 mmol/kg per day of this compound did not give rise to any significant toxic symptoms in the mice. In vitro experiments showed that the chemical affinity of N–acetyl–DL–penicillamine for methyl mercury was higher than that of the other thiols tested, except D–penicillamine. In contrast to the latter, N–acetyl–DL–penicillamine easily penetrated the cellular membranes, and therefore rapidly removed a substantial fraction of methyl mercury from the blood cells. It is assumed that N–acetyl–DL–penicillamine can reduce the mercury concentration in brain cells by converting the intracellularly non–diffusible methyl mercury into a freely diffusible complex. |
