Contribution of endoplasmic reticulum stress to site-specific neuropathy by methylmercury

Abstract

Although methylmercury (MeHg) results in neuronal cell death, the detailed mechanism has yet to be fully understood. In this study, we report a contribution of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress to MeHg-induced neuronal apoptosis in vivo. We found that ER stress derived signals by MeHg administration were detected in the brains. Interestingly, MeHg-induced ER stress signals (unfolded protein response) was specifically observed in neurons of the somatosensory cortex that have been reported to be injured by MeHg. These results indicated that ER stress is implicated in the neuronal loss by MeHg.