Increased Hepatic and Decreased Urinary Metallothionein in Rats after Cessation of Oral Cadmium Exposure
Yihuai Liang
Department of Occupational Health and Toxicology, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Environmental Medicine, Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
Search for more papers by this authorHuiqi Li
Department of Occupational Health and Toxicology, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Search for more papers by this authorCuiqin Xiang
Shanghai Municipal Center For Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai, China
Search for more papers by this authorLijian Lei
Department of Occupational Health and Toxicology, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Search for more papers by this authorTaiyi Jin
Department of Occupational Health and Toxicology, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Environmental Medicine, Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
Search for more papers by this authorMonica Nordberg
Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
Search for more papers by this authorGunnar F. Nordberg
Environmental Medicine, Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
Search for more papers by this authorYihuai Liang
Department of Occupational Health and Toxicology, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Environmental Medicine, Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
Search for more papers by this authorHuiqi Li
Department of Occupational Health and Toxicology, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Search for more papers by this authorCuiqin Xiang
Shanghai Municipal Center For Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai, China
Search for more papers by this authorLijian Lei
Department of Occupational Health and Toxicology, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Search for more papers by this authorTaiyi Jin
Department of Occupational Health and Toxicology, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Environmental Medicine, Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
Search for more papers by this authorMonica Nordberg
Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
Search for more papers by this authorGunnar F. Nordberg
Environmental Medicine, Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Abstract: We investigated the role of metallothionein (MT) in tissues after cessation of cadmium (Cd) exposure. Wistar rats of both genders were given CdCl2 in drinking water at daily doses of 0, 2.5, 5.0 or 10.0 mg Cd/kg body-weight for 12 weeks. Half of the animals were then killed; the others were given Cd-free water for the following 16 weeks, i.e. until 28 weeks after start of the experiment (28-week rats). We observed dose-dependent increases in the levels of MT in the tissues of rats 12 weeks after beginning the experiment (12-week rats). After the exposure ceased, levels of MT in the 28-week rats changed in three ways: an increase in the liver, persistence in the kidney cortex and a decrease in the medulla, relative to those levels in their 12-week counterparts. Biomarkers of kidney dysfunction were determined to be urinary MT (UMT) and urinary N-acetyl-β-d-glucosaminidase (UNAG). After 12 weeks, we observed dose-related statistically significant increases in UMT and UNAG in all of the Cd-exposed groups. A statistically significant decrease for UNAG between the 12- and 28-week rats occurred among males at the lowest Cd dose and for UMT in all of the Cd-exposed groups. The unchanged tissue levels of MT in the kidney cortex suggest that decreased UMT is a sign either of (i) decreased transport of Cd-MT from the liver via blood plasma to the renal tubules or (ii) increased tubular reabsorption and recovery of renal tubular function.
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