Mercury compounds are known to cause central nervous system disorders; however\nthe detailed molecular mechanisms of their actions remain unclear. Methylmercury increases the\nexpression of several chemokine genes, specifically in the brain, while metallothionein-III (MT-III)\nhas a protective role against various brain diseases. In this study, we investigated the involvement\nof MT-III in chemokine gene expression changes in response to methylmercury and mercury vapor\nin the cerebrum and cerebellum of wild-type mice and MT-III null mice. No difference in mercury\nconcentration was observed between the wild-type mice and MT-III null mice in any brain tissue\nexamined. The expression of Ccl3 in the cerebrum and of Cxcl10 in the cerebellum was increased by\nmethylmercury in the MT-III null but not the wild-type mice. The expression of Ccl7 in the cerebellum\nwas increased by mercury vapor in the MT-III null mice but not the wild-type mice. However,\nthe expression of Ccl12 and Cxcl12 was increased in the cerebrum by methylmercury only in the\nwild-type mice and the expression of Ccl3 in the cerebellum was increased by mercury vapor only in\nthe wild-type mice. These results indicate that MT-III does not affect mercury accumulation in the\nbrain, but that it affects the expression of some chemokine genes in response to mercury compounds.
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