Prenatal HgCl2 exposure in BALB/c mice: gender-specific effects on the ontogeny of the immune system.

Because mercury is highly toxic to developing organisms, we tested the hypothesis that prenatal exposure to HgCl(2) can induce persistent immune dysfunction. Pregnant BALB/c mice were administrated every other day, for 11 days with HgCl(2) (200 microg/kg). Their offspring were studied at PND10, 14, 21, and 60.