Protective effect of diethyldithiocarbamate on mercury-induced toxicity in kidney mitochondria.

The protective effect of diethyldithiocarbamate on several functions of kidney mitochondria, isolated from rats poisoned with mercury, was analyzed. The drug, administered at a concentration of 10 mg/ kg body weight to rats treated with a sublethal dose of Hg2+, for example, 2 mg/kg body weight, prevented the mercury-induced damage on: a) transmembrane potential, b) ATP synthesis, and c) Ca2+ accumulation. It is demonstrated that such a protective effect of diethyldithiocarbamate is due to its ionophoretic properties on mercury.