Comparison of cytopathological changes induced by mercury chloride exposure in renal cell lines (VERO and BGM)

The response to mercury chloride was assessed in two cell lines of renal origin, determining the range of toxic concentrations by Neutral Red assay after 24-h of exposure. Morphological changes in the Buffalo Green Monkey (BGM) and VERO cell lines after exposure to subcytotoxic doses (0.045 and 0.038mM, respectively) equivalent to EC10 (effective concentrations 10%) of mercury chloride were evaluated at the structural and ultrastructural level by optic, transmission and scanning microscopy. Using transmission electron microscopy, the most notable findings in treated cells were the presence of intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies and apoptotic bodies. Scanning microscopy pointed to a cell with a disrupted perinuclear region and a decreased number of surface microvilli. Similar alterations in both in vivo and in vitro experiments have been described by other authors. We conclude that BGM and VERO renal cell lines can be considered as useful tools for toxicological studies involving mercury chloride.