Vitamins and monothiols efficacy in the restoration of adenosine nucleotide degradation enzymes altered during methylmercury intoxication.

Male albino mice were intoxicated with a daily dose of 1 mg/kg of methylmercury chloride (MMC) for 7 days, and were treated thereafter with glutathione, N-acetyl-DL-homocysteine thiolactone, vitamin B complex, and vitamin E, either alone or in combinations, for the next 7 days. The animals were sacrificed on the eighth day, with the exception of one group that was kept without toxic exposure for an additional 7 days and sacrificed on the fifteenth day. Brain, spinal cord, kidney, and liver of the animals were examined for changes in adenosine deaminase and 5' nucleotidase. We found a severe inhibition of these enzymes during MMC intoxication and significant recovery during monothiols and vitamins administration, indicating the effectiveness of these agents in methylmercury detoxication.