PMID- 16117121
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20051201
LR  - 20190917
IS  - 0730-7268 (Print)
IS  - 0730-7268 (Linking)
VI  - 24
IP  - 6
DP  - 2005 Jun
TI  - Effects of mercury on neurochemical receptor-binding characteristics in wild 
      mink.
PG  - 1444-50
AB  - Piscivorous wildlife, such as mink (Mustela vison), routinely are exposed to 
      mercury (Hg) in their natural environment at levels that may cause adverse 
      behavioral outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine if a correlation 
      exists between neurochemical receptors and concentrations of Hg in the brains of 
      wild mink. Specifically, receptor-binding assays were conducted to characterize 
      the muscarinic cholinergic (mACh) and dopaminergic-2 (D2) systems in brain 
      tissues collected from mink trapped in the Yukon Territory, Ontario, and Nova 
      Scotia (Canada), and values were correlated with total Hg and methyl Hg (MeHg) 
      concentrations in the brains. A significant correlation was found between Hg 
      (total Hg and MeHg) and mACh receptor density (r = 0.546; r = 0.596, 
      respectively) or ligand affinity (r = 0.413; r = 0.474, respectively). A 
      significant negative correlation was found between total Hg and D2 receptor 
      density (r = -0.340) or ligand affinity (r = -0.346). These correlations suggest 
      that environmentally relevant concentrations of Hg may alter neurochemical 
      function in wild mink, and that neurochemical receptor-binding characteristics 
      can be used as a novel biomarker to assess Hg's effects on wildlife. Given the 
      importance of the muscarinic cholinergic and dopaminergic pathways in animal 
      behavior, further studies are required to explore the physiological and 
      ecological significance of these findings.
FAU - Basu, Niladri
AU  - Basu N
AD  - Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Sainte Anne de 
      Bellevue, Quebec H9X 3V9, Canada.
FAU - Klenavic, Kate
AU  - Klenavic K
FAU - Gamberg, Mary
AU  - Gamberg M
FAU - O'Brien, Mike
AU  - O'Brien M
FAU - Evans, Doug
AU  - Evans D
FAU - Scheuhammer, Anton M
AU  - Scheuhammer AM
FAU - Chan, Hing Man
AU  - Chan HM
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PL  - United States
TA  - Environ Toxicol Chem
JT  - Environmental toxicology and chemistry
JID - 8308958
RN  - 0 (Receptors, Dopamine D2)
RN  - 0 (Receptors, Muscarinic)
RN  - FXS1BY2PGL (Mercury)
SB  - IM
MH  - Animals
MH  - Behavior, Animal/drug effects
MH  - Brain/*metabolism
MH  - Environmental Exposure
MH  - Female
MH  - Male
MH  - Mercury/pharmacokinetics
MH  - Mercury Poisoning/*metabolism
MH  - Mink/*metabolism
MH  - Nova Scotia
MH  - Ontario
MH  - Radioligand Assay
MH  - Receptors, Dopamine D2/*metabolism
MH  - Receptors, Muscarinic/*metabolism
MH  - Yukon Territory
EDAT- 2005/08/25 09:00
MHDA- 2005/12/13 09:00
CRDT- 2005/08/25 09:00
PHST- 2005/08/25 09:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2005/12/13 09:00 [medline]
PHST- 2005/08/25 09:00 [entrez]
AID - 10.1897/04-048r.1 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Environ Toxicol Chem. 2005 Jun;24(6):1444-50. doi: 10.1897/04-048r.1.