Abstract: Objective To study the mechanism of toxicity of methylmercury on primary cultured SD rat astrocyte.Methods Treat primary cultured SD rat astrocyte with methylmercury.Determine the level of cyto-oxidation redoxin with High Performance Liquid Chromatography(HPLC).Western-blot was applied to examine the protein expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2 related factor 2(Nrf2).Results With the increase of the concentration of methylmercury,the redoxin level of astrocyte was apparently decreasing.When the concentration of methylmercury was at a low level,the expression of Nrf2 was increasing with the increase of the methylmercury concentration.When the concentration of methylmercury was at a high level,the expression of Nrf2 was decreasing with the increase of the methylmercury concentration.Conclusion The toxicity of methylmercury on primary cultured SD rat astrocyte can be realized through altering the function of GSH and Nrf2.

Key words: methylmercury, astrocyte, toxicity, nuclear factor erythroid-2 related factor 2(Nrf2)