Alteration of Cytomorphology of Peritoneal Macrophages of Albino Rat Exposed to Mercuric Compound

Mercury is among the heavy metals that have been reported to cause devastating health problems worldwide. The present work was aimed at investigating the effects of mercury chloride on the cytomorphology of the peritoneal macrophages of rat. The current study characterizes the mechanism by which mercury, a toxic metal, induces death in rat macrophages. In mercury treated group significant numbers of peritoneal macrophages were found to be pyknotic. The cellular death was confirmed by membrane blebbing and membrane rupture. Percentages of cells showing membrane blebbing was increased significantly after treatment. The result indicated mercury induced toxicity may affect macrophage mediated immunity. So macrophage activation during heavy metal mediated reaction is an interesting area to be explored in future researches.