Localization of inorganic and organic mercury in the liver and kidney of Cyprinus carpio by autometallography
Abstract
Mercury bioaccumulation in different tissues largely depends upon metal chemical form and has important implications on tissue-specific toxicity. Then, simple tools for mercury tissue localization are very useful for understanding the toxicity of mercurial compounds in fishes. In the present study, inorganic and organic mercury distribution was investigated in carp Cyprinus carpio, utilizing autometallography. Juvenile C. carpio were exposed through force-feeding with mercury contaminated pelleted food at doses of 0.5 μg g-1 of Hg+2 or MeHg twice at 15 days interval, and killed 15 days after the second exposure for sampling. Organic mercury was observed inside hepatocytes and in biliary ducts of liver, whereas inorganic form of mercury was observed only in biliary ducts. In the kidney, mercury was observed mainly in renal tubules, with the predominance of inorganic over organic mercury. The present study demonstrated that autometallography is a useful tool for the tissue localization of two mercurial compounds in the liver and kidney of C. carpio after trophic exposure.
Keywords: Autometallography, mercury, liver, kidney, Cyprinus carpio.
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