The effects of CCl4 on the accumulation of mercury in rat tissues after methylmercury injection.

Rats were administered a dose of 10 mg of CH3HgCl/kg by single s.c. injection. They were subsequently treated with 0.5 ml of CCl4/kg by three i.p. injections at 48-h intervals. The treatment with CCl4 resulted in the rise of total mercury level in brain, although the increase of mercury level was transitory and the difference between with and without CCl4 treatment gradually diminished. In addition, the mercury levels in other tissues involving liver, kidney, and muscle were increased by the treatment with CCl4. These results suggest that a hepatic damage by CCl4 is responsible for the duration of mercury accumulation in brain and other tissues after the single injection of methylmercury.