PARTIAL CHARACTERIZATION OF A LOW-MOLECULAR WEIGHT METHYLMERCURY COMPLEX IN RAT CEREBRUM

Treatment of rats with methylmercury produced a stable low-molecular weight methylmercury-containing complex which could be isolated by gel chromatography from either a 10,000g supernatant or a 108,000g supernatant prepared from cerebrum. The complex appeared within 5 min after iv injection of methylmercury and persisted for at least 5 days. At all time points investigated, the low-molecular weight complex accounted for about 30% of the total cerebral soluble methylmercury burden. The complex had elution properties on gel and ion exchange chromatography similar to those found for methylmercury-glutathione. Its migration and staining in gel electrophoresis also suggested its identity as methylmercury glutathione. © 1979.