Abstract

The organic mercurial compound used in this study produced toxic manifestations which were referable mainly to the heart when it was given intravenously to animals in large enough dosage. These effects were counteracted by the intravenous injection of the sulfhydryl compounds cysteine hydrochloride, glutathione, and 2,3,-dimercaptopropanol. In the heart-lung preparation of the dog, the protective action of the three sulfhydryl compounds studied was about equal when calculated in terms of —SH equivalents, while in the intact dog, 2,3,-dimercaptopropanol was about 5 to 8 times as effective as either cysteine hydrochloride or glutathione. Cystine and methionine had a slight protective action against the organic mercury compound in mice, but none in the intact dog or in the heart-lung preparation of the dog. Cysteine hydrochloride, glutathione, and 2,3,-dimercaptopropanol did not improve either spontaneous or sodium pentobarbital cardiac failure in the dog heart-lung preparation.