Abstract
Two groups of male Sprague-Dawley rats received from weaning 50 μg/ml of mercury as mercuric chloride (HgCl2) in drinking water for 320 and 350 days. Hg exposure increased cardiac inotropism, without chronotropic changes, in both groups, and induced arterial hypertension in the rats exposed for 350 days. In the exposed rats, cardiovascular responses to the stimulation of peripheral alpha and beta adrenoceptors were decreased and increased, respectively, possibly through a reduced intracellular availability of calcium ions for contractile mechanisms. Hg exposure did not affect either vagal or sympathetic activity or cardiovascular reactivity to several physiological agonists. On the other hand, Hg exposure induced baroreflex hyposensitivity and produced a drastic alteration of the levels of copper and zinc in brain and kidney.
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Abbreviations
- Hg:
-
Mercury
- CA:
-
catecholamines
- NE:
-
norepinephrine
- E:
-
epinephrine
- HgCl2 :
-
mercuric chloride
- dP/dtmax :
-
maximum rate of rise of the left ventricular pressure
- HR:
-
heart rate
- ECG:
-
electrocardiogram
- BCO:
-
bilateral carotid occlusion
- ISO:
-
isoprenaline
- BP:
-
blood pressure
- i.V.:
-
intravenous
- i.p.:
-
intraperitoneal
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© 1984 Springer-Verlag
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Carmignani, M., Boscolo, P. (1984). Cardiovascular Homeostasis in Rats Chronically Exposed to Mercuric Chloride. In: Chambers, P.L., Preziosi, P., Chambers, C.M. (eds) Disease, Metabolism and Reproduction in the Toxic Response to Drugs and Other Chemicals. Archives of Toxicology, vol 7. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-69132-4_66
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-69132-4_66
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-12452-8
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