Tritiated methylmercury in the brain of squirrel monkeys.

Tritiated methylmercuty hydroxide (MeHgOH) with a specific activity of 306 curies/mol was synthesized by a Grignard reagent from tritiated methyl iodide with a yield of 70%. Tritiated MeHg was given to squirrel monkeys by stomach tube in weekly doses of 0.8 mg/kg. The animals were killed after one dose or six doses. The distribution of the substance in the brain was then studied by microautoradiography and by fractionation of brain tissue into cellular and subcellular fractions. Part of the MeHg in the brain is in a water-soluble form. Methylmercuty was found autoradiographically mainly in the neuropile of the cortex. At subtoxic doses (one dose), more protein-bound radioactivity was found in the glial fraction than in the neuronal fraction. At toxic dose (six doses), the protein-bound fraction of MeHg increased significantly (P less than .02) in the neurons relative to nontoxic dose (one dose). Methylmercury was demonstrated autoradiographically in damaged neurons but not in undamaged neurons.