Cadmium (Cd) is an important industrial and environmental pollutant that can produce a wide variety of adverse effects in humans and animals. A growing volume of evidence indicates that the vascular endothelium may be one of the primary targets of Cd toxicity in vivo. Studies over the past 20 years have shown that Cd, at relatively low, sublethal concentrations, can target vascular endothelial ...

We aimed to identify functional differences between different sections of the thallus Ulva australis and develop tissue-endpoint combinations assess toxicity six metals (i.e., Ag, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni). EC50 values for these in three were obtained multiple endpoints: relative growth rate (RGR), chlorophyll a fluorescence, pigment contents, expression photosynthesis-related gene, rbcL. The respons...

Toxic effects of two heavy metals, cadmium (Cd) and copper (Cu), and a fungicide, diethyldithiocarbamate, have been evaluated, alone and in association, on Spirodela polyrhiza duckweed cultivated in a synthetic mineral medium and in a distilled water medium. The composition of the culture medium influenced the toxicity of the three compounds and the effects of their associations were clearly sh...

Cadmium (Cd) and excess copper (Cu) are toxic to plants, causing a wide range of deleterious effects including the formation of reactive oxygen species. Metallothioneins (MTs) may protect plant cells from heavy metal toxicity by chelating heavy metals via cysteine thiol groups. They may also function as antioxidants. The study investigated the relationship of H₂O₂ production and ricMT expressio...

The alleviative effects of silicon (Si) on cadmium (Cd) toxicity were investigated in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) grown hydroponically. The growth of both plant species was inhibited by 100 μM Cd, but Si application counteracted the adverse effects on growth. Si application significantly decreased the Cd concentrations in shoots of both species and roots o...

The effect of 24-epibrassinolide and 28-homobrassinolide on seed germination and seedling growth of radish (Raphanus sativus L.) was studied under cadmium toxicity. The impact of brassinosteroids (BRs) on free proline levels and the activity of antioxidant enzymes catalase (CAT; EC 1.11.1.6), peroxidase (POD; EC 1.11.1.7), superoxide dismutase (SOD; EC 1.15.1.1), ascorbic peroxidase (APOX; EC 1...

Cadmium (Cd) is an environmental toxicant of widespread exposure and pervasive toxicity. Absorption, systemic transport and uptake of Cd are mediated by metal transporters that the body uses for acquisition of physiologically-essential elements, notably of iron, zinc and calcium. Currently, human exposure to Cd is known to damage the kidneys, especially the proximal tubular cells that actively ...

Cadmium (Cd) is an environmental hazardous heavy metal that causes renal dysfunction triggered by its toxicity to proximal tubular cells. Our previous study demonstrated Cd changed the activities of various transcription factors (TFs) in mouse kidney. In this study, we investigated whether long-term exposure affected expression levels downstream genes these TFs. C57BL/6J female mice were fed ch...

Three soil types with different physicochemical properties were selected to evaluate their effect on lead and cadmium bioavailability toxicity in the land snail Helix aspersa. In 28-day ecotoxicity tests, H. aspersa juveniles exposed increasing concentrations of Pb or Cd. EC50s, reducing growth by 50%, differed between soils so did Cd uptake snails. For lead, EC50s 2397–6357 mg Pb/kg dry soil, ...