The high concentrations of cadmium recorded in the digestive gland of cephalopods from various temperate and subpolar waters suggest that these molluscs have developed efficient cadmium detoxification mechanisms. The subcellular distribution of cadmium in the digestive gland cells was investigated in seven cephalopod species from the Bay of Biscay (France) and the Faroe Islands. In most species...

BACKGROUND Exposure to cadmium is associated with human pathologies and altered gene expression. The molecular mechanisms by which cadmium affects transcription remain unclear. It has been proposed that cadmium activates transcription by altering intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) and disrupting calcium-mediated intracellular signaling processes. This hypothesis is based on sever...

This study pertains to the role of selenium against the toxic manifestations of chronic cadmium exposure. The kidney is a recognized target organ for chronic cadmium exposure, owing to the very long half-life of cadmium. Cadmium (as cadmium chloride) in a dose of 8 mg kg-1 body wt. was administered orally for a period of 8 weeks in mice. This resulted in a significant decrease in total reduced ...

Twenty-one male rabbits were divided into three groups: rabbits of two groups were given pelleted food containing cadmium chloride at a dose level of 300 micrograms Cd/g over periods of 44 or 19 weeks. Rabbits of the last group were given ordinary commercial pelleted food and served as controls. Cadmium increased urinary protein and amino acid by week 19 and increased it to a remarkably high le...

 Cadmium is more efficiently absorbed from the lungs than the gastrointestinal tract  Cadmium is widely distributed in the body bound mainly to red blood cells. It accumulates in the kidney and liver, where it induces the production of metallothionein that binds approximately 80 90 % of cadmium in the body  There is little or no metabolism of cadmium although it binds to various macromolecul...

The effects of cadmium on estrogen receptor and other estrogen-regulated genes in the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 were studied. Treatment of MCF-7 cells with 1 microM cadmium decreased the level of estrogen receptor 58%. Cadmium induced a parallel decrease in estrogen receptor mRNA (62%). Progesterone receptor levels increased 3.2-fold after cadmium treatment. This induction was blocked...

To investigate a possible common environmental exposure that may partially explain the observed decrease in human semen quality, we correlated seminal plasma and blood cadmium levels with sperm concentration and sperm motility. We studied three separate human populations: [Group 1] infertility patients (Long Island, NY), [Group 2] artificial insemination (AI) donors (Rochester, NY), and [Group ...

In this study we evaluated the time dependence in cadmium-nicotine interaction and its effect on motor function, anxiety linked behavioural changes, serum electrolytes, and weight after acute and chronic treatment in adult male mice. Animals were separated randomly into four groups of n = 6 animals each. Treatment was done with nicotine, cadmium, or nicotine-cadmium for 21 days. A fourth group ...

The environmental pollutant cadmium affects human health, with the kidney being a primary target. In addition to proximal tubules, glomeruli and their contractile mesangial cells have also been identified as targets of cadmium nephrotoxicity. Glomerular contraction is thought to contribute to reduced glomerular filtration, a characteristic of cadmium nephrotoxicity. Because p38 MAPK/HSP25 signa...

It is known that cadmium induces a variety of functional disorders, especially liver and kidney dysfunction. The main mechanism involved in cadmium hepatotoxicity is its binding to sulfhydryl groups and initiation of inflammation. Additionally, oxidative stress, due to a decrease in antioxidative capacity, plays a role in chronic cadmium hepatotoxicity. The role of oxidative stress in acute cad...