Decrease in protein phosphorylation in central and peripheral nervous tissues of methylmercury-treated rat.

The protein phosphorylation in extracts of nervous tissues of rats acutely exposed to methylmercury chloride (seven daily injections of 10 mg methylmercury chloride/kg body weight) was examined. In the brain, the phosphorylating activity was dependent on cAMP and Mg2+. The effect of methylmercury on the phosphorylation of brain proteins, including tubulin and MAP-2, was hardly discernible. In peripheral nervous tissues such as the dorsal and ventral roots, sciatic nerves and dorsal root ganglia, the phosphorylating activity was dependent on Ca2+, and the maximal activity was obtained when the tissues were extracted in the presence of 1% Triton X-100. SDS-Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed that the major phosphorylated proteins in the peripheral tissues were myelin proteins. The effects of methylmercury were not uniform regarding protein species and tissues. The most marked changes were observed in sciatic nerves, in which phosphorylation of the 33 kDa, 28 kDa, 19 kDa, 18 kDa and 15 kDa proteins was significantly decreased in the symptomatic phase of intoxication.