Studies on the toxic effects of acute mercuric chloride poisoning in mice: primary toxicity evaluation analysis of HgCl ₂

The aim of this study was to explore the acute damage caused by acute mercuric chloride poisoning to mice. The mice model of acute mercury (HgCl₂) poisoning was prepared by gavage and intraperitoneal injection, respectively. The experimental results showed that the LD50 was about 24 mg/kg for gavage and 4 mg/kg for intraperitoneal injection. On the basis of gavage, there were differences in the time required for water maze and righting reflex tests between groups of mice gavaged with different doses of HgCl₂ (<i>p < 0.05</i>); The levels of SOD, MDA, GSH-PX, CRE, BUN, AST and ALT in mice were different from those in the control (Normal saline) group (<i>p < 0.05</i>); The degree of inflammation response under microscope was different in different dose groups after HE staining of liver tissues, and there were differences in the degree of intimal thickening and lumen stenosis in different dose groups after HE staining of kidney tissue; The inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) measured the levels of mercury in mice increased with increasing mercuric chloride concentration, with the accumulation in kidney much higher than that in liver. Based on the results of the study, it was concluded that the damage caused by mercuric chloride to memory, oxidative stress, liver and kidney tissues in mice starts from 4 mg/kg, and the mortality rate of mice reached 100% when the gavage dose was greater than or equal to 32 mg/kg, and the intraperitoneal injection of mercuric chloride produced faster and stronger toxic effects than gavage.