Different vulnerability of rat retinal cells to methylmercury exposure

We tested the hypothesis that methylmercury chloride (MMC) caused a selective vulnerability in rat retinal cells during the intact preparation. MMC was injected subcutaneously daily at 3 different doses (0.25, 0.70 or 1.50 mg/kg/day) for 30 days. The electroretinograms under dark- and light-adaptation were recorded before and at 10-day intervals during the treatment period. With the lowest dose of MMC, only the amplitude of the light-adapted (LA) 20 Hz response significantly decreased on Day 30. At the intermediate dose, amplitude reductions were observed on Day 20 for the LA 20 Hz response and dark-adapted (DA) a-wave, while reductions in the LA 2 Hz b-wave and DA b-wave were noted only on Day 30. At the highest dose, these changes occurred earlier during the course of treatment. However, the amplitude of the DA second positive oscillatory potentials and the implicit times of any response components remained unchanged at all dosages. These results suggest that the cones are more sensitive than the rods, bipolar cells and Müller cells to MMC. However, amacrine cells were found to be relatively insensitive. Therefore, each retinal cell was found to have a different vulnerability to MMC.

Chronic effects of methylmercury on the cerebral function in rats

We studied the effects of the long-term and small-dose administration of methylmercury chloride (MMC) on the cerebral function in rats. MMC, at a dose of 0.7 mg/kg/day, was subcutaneously injected for 85 consecutive days in nine adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. They were then sacrificed on the final day of exposure (MMC group) after both completing observations on behavioral changes and also determining the local cerebral glucose utilization (LCGU) as an indicator of the cerebral neuronal activities. Histological examinations of the brain and the sciatic nerve were also performed. In addition, seven rats who received physiological saline also served as a control. LCGU significantly decreased in the visual cortex, lateral geniculate nucleus and medial geniculate nucleus without any accompanying histological alterations. Severe axonal degeneration of the sciatic nerve was also observed, which corresponded to the previously described crossed leg phenomenon. The present results suggest that the damage to the peripheral nerve was much more severe than that to the brain, which caused behavioral changes. Although no cerebral morphological changes were observed, brain dysfunction showed a selective involvement of the visual and auditory systems. This finding suggests that LCGU is a sensitive method for detecting the subclinical cerebral dysfunction caused by long-term and small-dose MMC intoxication in the rat brain.

Recovery of brain dysfunction after methylmercury exposure in rats

We studied the time course of central nervous system (CNS) involvement after the termination of methylmercury exposure to rats, in order to investigate whether or not the involvement still progresses even after the termination of exposure. Methylmercury chloride (MMC), at a dose of 2 mg/kg/day, was subcutaneously injected for 25 consecutive days in 12 adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. Six of them were sacrificed on the final day of exposure (group A) after completing the observations of behavioral changes and determining the local cerebral glucose utilization (LCGU) as an indicator of cerebral neuronal activities. Histological examinations of the brain and the sciatic nerve were done. The other six rats were further followed up for 90 days after the termination of exposure (group B). In addition, six rats that received physiological saline served as a control. Group A showed a significant reduction of LCGU without any accompanying cerebral histological alterations and a moderate loss of myelinated fibers in the sciatic nerve. Group B showed normal LCGU rates while severe axonal degeneration of the sciatic nerve was found on the final day of the 90-day follow-up period. The present results demonstrate that a transient involvement of the CNS can occur after MMC exposure. In addition, a complete recovery may occur when the process is mild enough not to cause histological alterations. In contrast, the involvement of the peripheral nerve is much more severe than that of the CNS and it was observed to progress even after the cessation of MMC exposure. Therefore, it seems unlikely, at least in rats, that a steadily progressive course occurs in the CNS but not in the peripheral nerves over a long period of time after MMC exposure.

Properties of rat cone-mediated electroretinograms during light adaptation

PURPOSE

Our aim was to better understand how to isolate the cone-mediated response in rats. Therefore, we studied the difference of ERGs in the course of light adaptation between 2 and 20 Hz stimulus frequencies.

METHODS

A total of 90 rats divided into 18 different groups were used following overnight dark adaptation. ERGs were recorded against 3 different adapting field luminances (1.15, 1. 50 or 1.75 log cd/m(2)) with a combination of 3 stimulus flash intensities (0.86, 1.30 or 2.03 log cd sec/m( 2)). The responses were obtained at 2 minute intervals for 25 minutes of light adaptation.

RESULTS

The response of the rat cone ERG was large despite the small number of cones. The mean amplitude increased systematically from the dark-adapted value requiring more than 15 minutes to reach an asymptote at 2 Hz stimulation, but only 10 minutes at 20 Hz stimulation. The 2 Hz adaptation curves had biphasic pattern compared to the monophasic 20 Hz curve. This second increase in the amplitude at 2 Hz appeared at around 7-8 minutes as a function of adaptation time. This tendency was most evident when using a low adapting field luminance with a high flash intensity.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that the rods intrude much more during light adaptation at 2 Hz stimulation in rodents than in humans. Therefore, 20 Hz flicker stimulation can better isolate more the cone-mediated function than 2 Hz stimulation during the course of light adaptation in rats. Furthermore, the functional characteristics of the cone in rats may be different from that in humans.

Coupling of protein surface hydrophobicity change to ATP hydrolysis by myosin motor domain

Dielectric spectroscopy with microwaves in the frequency range between 0.2 and 20 GHz was used to study the hydration of myosin subfragment 1 (S1). The data were analyzed by a method recently devised, which can resolve the total amount of water restrained by proteins into two components, one with a rotational relaxation frequency (fc) in the gigahertz region (weakly restrained water) and the other with lower fc (strongly restrained water). The weight ratio of total restrained water to S1 protein thus obtained (0.35), equivalent to 2100 water molecules per S1 molecule, is not much different from the values (0.3-0.4) for other proteins. The weakly restrained component accounts for about two-thirds of the total restrained water, which is in accord with the number of water molecules estimated from the solvent-accessible surface area of alkyl groups on the surface of the atomic model of S1. The number of strongly restrained water molecules coincides with the number of solvent-accessible charged or polar atoms. The dynamic behavior of the S1-restrained water during the ATP hydrolysis was also examined in a time-resolved mode. The result indicates that when S1 changes from the S1.ADP state into the S1.ADP.P1 state (ADP release followed by ATP binding and cleavage), about 9% of the weakly restrained waters are released, which are restrained again on slow P1 release. By contrast, there is no net mobilization of strongly restrained component. The observed changes in S1 hydration are quantitatively consistent with the accompanying large entropy and heat capacity changes estimated by calorimetry (Kodama, 1985), indicating that the protein surface hydrophobicity change plays a crucial role in the enthalpy-entropy compensation effects observed in the steps of S1 ATP hydrolysis.