Activity of chosen indicator enzymes in blood serum of guinea pigs exposed to ethyl- and phenylmercuric chloride alone or jointly with sodium selenite.

The effect of sodium selenite on the activity of the selected enzymes in blood serum and on mercury concentration in some tissues of guinea pigs exposed to ethyl- (EtHg) or phenylmercuric chloride (PhHg) was investigated. Every second day for a 3-month period animals were given intragastrically a solution of mercuric compounds (2.5 mg Hg/kg) with or without sodium selenite (1 mg Se/kg). The activity of malate dehydrogenase (MDH, EC 1.1.1.37), phosphohexoizomerase (PHI, EC 5.3.1.9), and gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGTP, EC 2.3.2.2) in blood serum of control animals was ca. 3.8, 325, and 48 IU. After 10 weeks of exposure to EtHg and PhHg, the activities (IU) of the above enzymes were, respectively, 5.9 and 6.5 (MDH), 585 and 600 (PHI) and 211 and 86.5 (GGTP). Sodium selenite administered with mercuric compounds did not prevent in increases in enzyme activity. During the experiment the level of inorganic as well as organic mercury accumulated in kidneys and liver was estimated. After a 12-week exposure, sodium selenite decreased the level of total mercury in the liver (in the case of both EtHg and PhHg: from 47.0 to 31.8 and from 41.3 to 25.4 micrograms Hg/g tissue, respectively). It also slightly decreased the mercury level in the kidneys of animals exposed to PhHg (from 889 to 73.3 micrograms Hg/g tissue) but did not change the mercury concentration in the kidneys of guinea pigs exposed to ethylmercuric chloride.