Methylmercury exposure during early Xenopus laevis development affects cell proliferation and death but not neural progenitor specification.

ABSTRACT: Methylmercury (MeHg) is a widespread environmental toxin that preferentially and adversely affects developing organisms. To investigate the impact of MeHg toxicity on the formation of the vertebrate nervous system at physiologically relevant concentrations, we designed a graded phenotype scale for evaluating Xenopus laevis embryos exposed to MeHg in solution. Embryos displayed a range of abnormalities in response to MeHg, particularly in brain development, which is influenced by both MeHg concentration and the number of embryos per ml of exposure solution. A TC50 of ~50μg/l and LC50 of ~100μg/l were found when maintaining embryos at a density of one per ml, and both increased with increasing embryo density. In situ hybridization and microarray analysis showed no significant change in expre

SUBMITTER: Huyck RW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4302163 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jan-Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature