ArticleJournal of neuroscience research2012
N-acetyl cysteine treatment reduces mercury-induced neurotoxicity in the developing rat hippocampus.
Article in Journal of neuroscience research, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 45 citations in OpenAlex.
- Modulation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR and AMPK/TSC2/mTOR Pathways by N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine as a Protector of Embryonic Bodies from the Toxic Effect of Methylmercury.Brain sciences · 2026Review
- Recent advances in the clinical management of intoxication by five heavy metals: Mercury, lead, chromium, cadmium and arsenic.Heliyon · 2025Review
- Mercury exposure leading to functional vitamin B12 deficiency and subacute combined degeneration: a case report and literature review.Frontiers in toxicology · 2025Article
- Heavy metal pollution and ischemic stroke: multimechanistic pathogenesis and countermeasures.Frontiers in public health · 2025Review
- Comprehensive Review Regarding Mercury Poisoning and Its Complex Involvement in Alzheimer's Disease.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Mercury Toxicity and Neurogenesis in the Mammalian Brain.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Review
- Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms Mediating Methylmercury Neurotoxicity and Neuroinflammation.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Review
- Mercury toxicity in pregnant and lactating rats: zinc and N-acetylcysteine as alternative of prevention.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2020Article
- Methylmercury-Mediated Oxidative Stress and Activation of the Cellular Protective System.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Review
- Inorganic mercury-induced MIP-2 expression is suppressed by N-acetyl-L-cysteine in RAW264.7 macrophages.Biomedical reports · 2020Article
- Methylmercury Impact on Adult Neurogenesis: Is the Worst Yet to Come From Recent Brazilian Environmental Disasters?Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2020Article
- A Hypothesis and Evidence That Mercury May be an Etiological Factor in Alzheimer's Disease.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Article
- Continuous Exposure to Inorganic Mercury Affects Neurobehavioral and Physiological Parameters in Mice.Journal of molecular neuroscience : MN · 2018Article
- Methylmercury reduces synaptic transmission and neuronal excitability in rat hippocampal slices.Pflugers Archiv : European journal of physiology · 2018Article
- Neuroprotective Role ofBrain sciences · 2018Article
- Rapid Detection of Neurodevelopmental Phenotypes in Human Neural Precursor Cells (NPCs).Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE · 2018Article
- Redox-dependent BMI1 activity drives in vivo adult cardiac progenitor cell differentiation.Cell death and differentiation · 2018Article
- Hijacking microglial glutathione by inorganic arsenic impels bystander death of immature neurons through extracellular cystine/glutamate imbalance.Scientific reports · 2016Article
- Hippocampal developmental vulnerability to methylmercury extends into prepubescence.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2015Article
- Metals, oxidative stress and neurodegeneration: a focus on iron, manganese and mercury.Neurochemistry international · 2013Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Mercury is an environmental toxicant that can disrupt brain development. However, although progress has been made in defining its neurotoxic effects, we know far less about available therapies that can effectively protect the brain in exposed individuals. We previously developed an animal model in which we defined the sequence of events underlying neurotoxicity: Methylmercury (MeHg) injection in postnatal rat acutely induced inhibition of mitosis and stimulated apoptosis in the hippocampus, which later resulted in intermediate-term deficits in structure size and cell number. N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) is the N-acetyl derivative of L-cysteine used clinically for treatment of drug intoxication. Here, based on its known efficacy in promoting MeHg urinary excretion, we evaluated NAC for protective effects in the developing brain. In immature neurons and precursors, MeHg (3 μM) induced a >50% decrease in DNA synthesis at 24 hr, an effect that was completely blocked by NAC coincubation. In vivo, injection of MeHg (5 μg/g bw) into 7-day-old rats induced a 22% decrease in DNA synthesis in whole hippocampus and a fourfold increase in activated caspase-3-immunoreactive cells at 24 hr and reduced total cell numbers by 13% at 3 weeks. Treatment of MeHg-exposed rats with repeated injections of NAC abolished MeHg toxicity. NAC prevented the reduction in DNA synthesis and the marked increase in caspase-3 immunoreactivity. Moreover, the intermediate-term decrease in hippocampal cell number provoked by MeHg was fully blocked by NAC. Altogether these results suggest that MeHg toxicity in the perinatal brain can be ameliorated by using NAC, opening potential avenues for therapeutic intervention.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.