Localization, Accumulation, and Toxic Effects of Mercuric Chloride on the Reproductive Axis of the Female Hamster12

Abstract

Experiments were performed to determine the mechanism for the effects of mercuric chloride on the reproductive system of the hamster. Tissue levels of mercury were determined in animals which were treated with daily subcutaneous doses of saline, 1 mg of HgCl₂, or 1 mg of HgCl₂ and 50 mg of N-acetyl-DL-penicillamine (NAP), throughout one 4-day estrous cycle. The relations between concentrations of mercury in several organs were found to be kidney > liver > anterior pituitary > ovary > blood > uterus > hypothalamus > cerebral cortex. Animals which were injected with HgCl₂ and NAP had significantly less (p < 0.001) mercury than animals treated with HgCl₂ alone in all tissues except the cerebral cortex. Tissues from animals which were injected daily with 12 µCi of ²⁰³HgCl₂ and 1 mg of HgCl₂ were prepared for radioautography. In the ovary, mercury was more concentrated in the corpora lutea than the follicles of interstitium. Mercury was also found lining the sinusoids of the pituitary and in some of the neurons of the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus. Explanations for possible alterations in gonadotropin secretion are discussed.