Effects of prenatal methylmercury exposure on urinary proximal tubular enzyme excretion in neonatal rats.

The basal developmental pattern of excretion of 3 proximal tubular enzymes was determined in 8-h urinary specimens from neonatal rats. Gammaglutamyltransferase (GGT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase (NAG) activities were measured at 3, 6, 9 and 12 days after birth. Subsequently, methylmercury chloride (CH3HgCl), known to induce foetotoxic changes in the proximal tubule was administered on days 8, 10 and 12 of gestation at 3 or 6 mg/kg and its effects on the enzyme activities were examined. Dose-related increases in the 3 enzyme activities occurred at dose levels that produced no maternal or postnatal toxicity, nor overt morphological malformation of the kidney. The peak of enzyme activities averaged about 200% and 130% of the control values for GGT, ALP, and NAG respectively, and occurred on days 3 and 6 in the treated groups. Urinary enzyme activities returned to the control levels from days 6 to 12. Our data point to the possibility of detecting CH3HgCl-induced prenatal effect on the kidney by measuring the 8-h urinary excretion of enzymes by rats in the early postnatal period.