Changes in in vitro interaction profiles of mercuric mercury and selenite in rabbit blood under various reaction conditions.

In vitro interaction profiles of mercuric mercury and selenite in rabbit blood under various reaction conditions were investigated. The most remarkable changes in the incorporations into the erythrocytes and gel filtration profiles of mercury and selenium in blood were observed when 10(-5) M mercuric chloride and 10(-5) M selenite were added to rabbit blood. Under this conditions, the mercury and selenium added always behaved with each other on gel filtration suggesting that most of mercury and selenium existed in a complex at a molar ratio of 1. When the concentration of mercuric chloride was 10(-7) in blood, however, the incorporation of mercury into erythrocytes was also increased by the simultaneous addition of selenite, but 10(-7) mercury did not stimulate the selenium incorporation. The behaviors of mercury and selenium in blood were altered by the order of addition of mercuric chloride and selenite to the blood. Compared to the simultaneous addition of both compounds, the final amount of mercury and selenium incorporated into erythrocytes were reduced by the addition of mercuric chloride prior to selenite, whereas the rates of incorporation of mercury and selenium were lowered by the addition of selenite prior to mercury. The gel filtration patterns of mercury and selenium in the plasma and stroma-free hemolysate of the blood preincubated with selenite before the addition of mercury were different from the case of simultaneous addition of both compounds or addition of mercury prior to selenite. The variety of interaction profiles of mercuric mercury and selenium in blood under different reaction conditions as observed in the present in vitro study may reflect the complex modes of interaction actually occurs in vivo.