Effect of four thiol-containing chelators on disposition of orally administered mercuric chloride

Acute toxicity and the disposition of inorganic mercury depends on the route of exposure. Most previous studies on effect of chelators on inorganic mercury toxicity and toxicokinetics employed parenteral administration of both metal and chelator. However, the most prominent routes for human inorganic mercury exposure are the oral or pulmonary. BAL was previously considered the drug of choice in human intoxications with most heavy metals. This recommendation has been questioned during recent years due to the advent of the less toxic hydrophilic BAL analogues DMSA and DMPS. The present study, using oral administration of HgCl2 labelled with 203Hg, demonstrates that DMPS is superior to the other chelators in preventing mortality. Moreover, both DMSA and DMPS are superior to BAL and NAPA in alleviating acute toxicity and in preventing the undesirable distribution of orally administered mercury, especially to the brain. Further, oral administration of these chelators were more efficient than parenteral administration in reducing whole-body retention and organ deposition of orally administered mercuric chloride, most likely due to the prevention of intestinal uptake of mercury.