Risk assessment of methyl mercury toxicity using fibroblast

本研究建立了小型印度猫鼬(Herpestes Auropot Tatus)肝细胞的原代培养方法。为了确定适合该物种原代肝细胞生长的培养液，我们比较了三种哺乳动物细胞培养常用的培养液：Dulbecco‘s Modify Eagle’s(DMEM)、RPMI-1640和William‘s E，其中William’s E最适合于该物种的肝细胞培养。用过碘酸-席夫(PAS)染色和超微结构观察，证实了从猫鼬肝脏中收集的细胞为肝细胞。为了评估汞(Hg)在肝组织中的分布，我们进行了自显影(AMG)染色。汞化合物主要分布在肝小叶中心区。光滑的内质网在该区域生长，在异物代谢、脂/胆固醇代谢以及脂类物质的消化和解毒中发挥作用。这表明汞与光滑的内质网共定位。本研究结果可用于识别体内汞含量较高的野生动物的解毒系统，以及评估野生动物对汞毒性的敏感性。

The present study established a primary hepatocyte culture for the small Indian mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus). To determine the suitable medium for growing the primary hepatic cells of this species, we compared the condition of cells cultured in three media that are frequently used for mammalian cell culture: Dulbecco's Modified Eagle’s Medium (DMEM), RPMI-1640, and William’s E. Of these, William’s E medium was best suited for culturing the hepatic cells of this species. Using periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) staining and ultrastructural observations, we demonstrated the cells collected from mongoose livers were hepatocytes. To evaluate the distribution of mercury(Hg) in the liver tissue, we carried out autometallography (AMG) staining. Most of the Hg compounds were found in the central region of hepatic lobules. Smooth endoplasmic reticulum, which plays a role in xenobiotic metabolism, lipid/cholesterol metabolism, and the digestion and detoxification of lipophilic substances is grown in this area. This suggested that Hg colocalized with smooth endoplasmic reticulum. The results of the present study could be useful to identify the detoxification systems of wildlife with high Hg content in the body, and to evaluate the susceptibility of wildlife to Hg toxicity.