Renal Tubular Dysfunction in Minamata Disease

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Abstract
Minamata disease was found among the residents along Minamata Bay [Japan] contaminated with the effluent from an industrial plant using Hg. The patients were suffering from various neurologic disorders primarily due to organic Hg poisoning. Evidence is described of renal tubular dysfunction associated with this disease by the immunochemical demonstration of renal tubular epithelial antigen and .beta.-2-microglobulin in the urine. Nineteen patients with Minamata disease and 35 diseased and healthy control subjects were examined. The contents of urinary renal tubular epithelial antigen and .beta.-2-microglobulin, and the ratios of these proteins to albumin in individuals with Minamata disease were significantly different from the levels in healthy control subjects (P < 0.05), and the values were identical to those found in patients with tubular proteinuria. These results indicate that Minamata disease is associated with renal tubular dysfunction, and also suggest that these procedures would be useful for screening the nephrotoxicity in the environmental exposure of heavy metals.

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