Intraperitoneal administration of a single dose (6 mg/kg body wt.) of mercuric chloride led to a rapid and irreversible inhibition of Na+/K(+)-ATPase activity in rat cerebral capillaries. The activity measured at 1 h, 18 h and 5 days after injection was, respectively, 53, 44 and 26% of the control. By contrast, Mg(2+)-ATPase activity in the capillaries remained uninhibited throughout the observation period. Mercuric chloride administration did not affect either of the two enzyme activities in nerve endings, which is consistent with the inability of the compound to penetrate the blood-brain barrier. The mercuric-chloride-induced impairment of the capillary sodium pump may contribute to disturbances of ion homeostasis in the brain and thus to the neurophysiological abnormalities accompanying this exposure. Direct treatment of the isolated cerebral capillary preparations with mercuric chloride evoked a stronger inhibitory effect on Mg(2+)-ATPase (IC50 = 0.25 microM) than on Na+/K(+)-ATPase (IC50 = 5.0 microM). This result indicates that the effect in vivo may not have resulted from direct interaction of the compound with the latter enzyme.