Differences in cadmium transport to the testis, epididymis, and brain in cadmium-sensitive and -resistant murine strains 129/J and A/J. (1/26)

Although most animals with scrotal testes are susceptible to cadmium-induced testicular toxicity, strain-related differences are seen in mice. Resistant murine strains demonstrate a decreased cadmium concentration in the testis and also in the epididymis and seminal vesicle. In this study we analyzed cadmium transport into tissues with a vascular barrier, the testis, epididymis, and brain, in an attempt to characterize the mechanisms of strain resistance to cadmium-induced testicular toxicity. In the resistant murine strain A/J, 109Cd transport (administered as 109CdCl2) was significantly attenuated in the testis, epididymis, and brain, when compared to the sensitive murine strain 129/J. The unidirectional influx constant (Ki, in microliter g-1 min-1) for 109Cd was 0.01929 in the A/J testis as compared with 1.174 in the 129/J testis (P <.0001). The percentage of a 109Cd dose that reached the A/J testis by 60 min was over 10 times less than that which reached the 129/J testis. The transport system used by cadmium in the 129/J testis was saturable, with 20 microM unlabeled cadmium chloride inhibiting transport by over 60%. The transporter was competitively inhibited by zinc (P =. 00017), but not by calcium, indicating a specificity in ion transport. Studies with isolated tubules and analysis of testicular fluid compartments demonstrated no significant difference in cadmium uptake or efflux between the strains when corrected for the amount of 109Cd entering the testis. Therefore, murine strain differences in testicular sensitivity to cadmium appear to be related to the variable presence of a transport system for cadmium in the testicular vasculature.  (+info)

Calculating bone-lead measurement variance. (2/26)

The technique of (109)Cd-based X-ray fluorescence (XRF) measurements of lead in bone is well established. A paper by some XRF researchers [Gordon CL, et al. The Reproducibility of (109)Cd-based X-ray Fluorescence Measurements of Bone Lead. Environ Health Perspect 102:690-694 (1994)] presented the currently practiced method for calculating the variance of an in vivo measurement once a calibration line has been established. This paper corrects typographical errors in the method published by those authors; presents a crude estimate of the measurement error that can be acquired without computational peak fitting programs; and draws attention to the measurement error attributable to covariance, an important feature in the construct of the currently accepted method that is flawed under certain circumstances.  (+info)

109Cd K x ray fluorescence measurements of tibial lead content in young adults exposed to lead in early childhood. (3/26)

OBJECTIVES: Tibia lead measurements were performed in a population of 19-29 year old people who had been highly exposed to lead in childhood to find whether lead had persisted in the bone matrix until adulthood. METHODS: (109)Cd K x ray fluorescence was used to measure the tibia lead concentrations of 262 exposed subjects and 268 age and sex matched controls. Questionnaire data allowed a years of residence index to be calculated for exposed subjects. A cumulative blood lead index was calculated from the time weighted integration of available data of blood lead. RESULTS: The mean (SEM) difference between exposed and control men was 4.51 (0.35) micrograms Pb/g bone mineral, and between exposed and control women was 3.94 (0. 61) micrograms Pb/g bone mineral. Grouped mean bone lead concentrations of exposed subjects were predicted best by age. When exposed and control subjects' data were combined, grouped mean bone lead concentrations were predicted best by cumulative blood lead index. The years of residence index was neither a good predictor of bone lead concentrations for exposed subjects nor for exposed and control subjects combined. Finally, exposed subjects had increased current blood lead concentrations that correlated significantly with bone lead values. CONCLUSION: Bone lead concentrations of exposed subjects were significantly increased compared with those of control subjects. Lead from exposure in early childhood had persisted in the bone matrix until adulthood. Exposed subjects had increased blood lead concentrations compared with controls. Some of this exposure could be related to ongoing exposure. However, some of the increase in blood lead concentration in adult exposed subjects seemed to be a result of endogenous exposure from increased bone lead stores. The endogenous exposure relation found for men was consistent with reported data, but the relation found for women was significantly lower. Further research is needed to find whether the observed differences are due to sex, or pregnancy and lactation.  (+info)

Remobilization of cadmium in maturing shoots of near isogenic lines of durum wheat that differ in grain cadmium accumulation. (4/26)

Cadmium accumulation in grain of durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. var. durum) represents a concern to consumers. In an effort to understand the regulation of Cd accumulation in maturing grain, the remobilization of 109Cd applied to stem and flag leaves was examined in two near-isogenic lines that differ in grain Cd accumulation. Absorbed 109Cd was primarily retained in the labelling flap (50-54% and 65-80% for stem and flag leaves, respectively). Cadmium exported from the stem flap initially (3 d) accumulated in the stem in a declining gradient towards the head. Subsequent remobilization of Cd deposited in the stem was associated with Cd accumulation in the grain. Cadmium exported from the flag leaf flap was primarily directed to the grain. Little (<1%) Cd accumulated in the glumes or rachis, and transport of Cd to shoot tissues below the flag leaf node was low (<1%). On average, 9% and 17% of absorbed 109Cd accumulated in the grain 14 d after labelling the stem and flag leaf, respectively. Irrespective of labelling position, the low Cd-accumulating isoline averaged 1.5-2-fold lower Cd accumulation per grain and Cd concentration in the grain than the high Cd-accumulating isoline. Cadmium accumulation in the grain was inversely correlated with Cd retention in the stem (stem labelled) and labelling flap (flag leaf labelled) for both isolines. Cadmium translocation to the grain was not inhibited by Zn when both were applied simultaneously (50 pM 109Cd; 0.5 microM 65Zn) to the flag leaf. These results show that elevated remobilization of Cd from the leaves and stem to the maturing grain may be partially responsible for the high accumulation of Cd in durum wheat grain.  (+info)

Influence of prior Cd(2+) exposure on the uptake of Cd(2+) and other elements in the phytochelatin-deficient mutant, cad1-3, of Arabidopsis thaliana. (5/26)

In order to test the potential effect of prior exposure to different Cd concentrations on Cd uptake and accumulation, plants of Arabidopsis thaliana, including a phytochelatin-deficient mutant, cad1-3, and the wild type, were compared. For Cd uptake experiments, plants were grown for 1 week in nutrient solution containing different Cd concentrations (0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, and 1.0 microM Cd(NO(3))(2)). Thereafter they were subjected to 0.5 microM Cd labelled with (109)Cd for 2 h. Uptake experiments with (109)Cd showed that the phytochelatin-deficient mutant cad1-3, accumulated less Cd than the wild type. Both a lower proportion and lower total amount of absorbed Cd were translocated to the shoot in cad1-3 plants compared to wild-type plants. Cadmium exposure also influenced the amounts of nutrients found, whereby after exposure to high Cd concentrations (0.5, 1.0 microM) during growth, cad1-3 roots contained less Fe, K, Mg, P, and S compared to roots of the wild type. In cad1-3 these elements decreased with increasing Cd concentration. The total Cd content in roots and shoots increased significantly with increasing Cd concentration during growth, although the increase was much less in cad1-3 plants. In time-dependent experiments of Cd uptake carried out between 15 and 120 min on plants not previously exposed to Cd, no significant difference in Cd accumulation between the mutant and wild type were found, although a smaller amount of Cd was translocated to the shoot in cad1-3 plants. The possibility that the differences in Cd accumulation in mutant and wild-type lines may be due to the cytosolic Cd regulation, which is inhibited by the complexation of Cd by phytochelatins, is discussed.  (+info)

Characteristics of cadmium uptake in two contrasting ecotypes of the hyperaccumulator Thlaspi caerulescens. (6/26)

Uptake of Cd and Zn by intact seedlings of two contrasting ecotypes of the hyperaccumulator Thlaspi caerulescens was characterized using radioactive tracers. Uptake of Cd and Zn at 2 degrees C was assumed to represent mainly apoplastic binding in the roots, whereas the difference in uptake between 22 degrees C and 2 degrees C represented metabolically dependent influx. There was no significant difference between the two ecotypes in the apoplastic binding of Cd or Zn. Metabolically dependent uptake of Cd was 4.5-fold higher in the high Cd-accumulating ecotype, Ganges, than in the low Cd-accumulating ecotype, Prayon. By contrast, there was only a 1.5-fold difference in the Zn uptake between the two ecotypes. For the Ganges ecotype, Cd uptake could be described by Michaelis-Menten kinetics with a V(max) of 143 nmol g(-1) root FW h(-1) and a K(m) of 0.45 microM. Uptake of Cd by the Ganges ecotype was not inhibited by La, Zn, Cu, Co, Mn, Ni or Fe(II), and neither by increasing the Ca concentration. By contrast, addition of La, Zn or Mn, or increasing the Ca concentration in the uptake solution decreased Cd uptake by Prayon. Uptake of Ca was larger in Prayon than in Ganges. The results suggest that Cd uptake by the low Cd-accumulating ecotype (Prayon) may be mediated partly via Ca channels or transporters for Zn and Mn. By contrast, there may exist a highly selective Cd transport system in the root cell membranes of the high Cd-accumulating ecotype (Ganges) of T. caerulescens.  (+info)

Influence of iron status on cadmium and zinc uptake by different ecotypes of the hyperaccumulator Thlaspi caerulescens. (7/26)

We have previously identified an ecotype of the hyperaccumulator Thlaspi caerulescens (Ganges), which is far superior to other ecotypes (including Prayon) in Cd uptake. In this study, we investigated the effect of Fe status on the uptake of Cd and Zn in the Ganges and Prayon ecotypes, and the kinetics of Cd and Zn influx using radioisotopes. Furthermore, the T. caerulescens ZIP (Zn-regulated transporter/Fe-regulated transporter-like protein) genes TcZNT1-G and TcIRT1-G were cloned from the Ganges ecotype and their expression under Fe-sufficient and -deficient conditions was analyzed. Both short- and long-term studies revealed that Cd uptake was significantly enhanced by Fe deficiency only in the Ganges ecotype. The concentration-dependent kinetics of Cd influx showed that the V(max) of Cd was 3 times greater in Fe-deficient Ganges plants compared with Fe-sufficient plants. In Prayon, Fe deficiency did not induce a significant increase in V(max) for Cd. Zn uptake was not influenced by the Fe status of the plants in either of the ecotypes. These results are in agreement with the gene expression study. The abundance of ZNT1-G mRNA was similar between the Fe treatments and between the two ecotypes. In contrast, abundance of the TcIRT1-G mRNA was greatly increased only in Ganges root tissue under Fe-deficient conditions. The present results indicate that the stimulatory effect of Fe deficiency on Cd uptake in Ganges may be related to an up-regulation in the expression of genes encoding for Fe(2+) uptake, possibly TcIRT1-G.  (+info)

Cadmium-metallothionein interactions in the olfactory pathways of rats and pikes. (8/26)

Deposition of cadmium onto the olfactory epithelium results in transport of the metal along the primary olfactory neurons to the olfactory bulbs of the brain. The present investigation was undertaken to determine the intracellular ligand binding of cadmium during this process. (109)Cd(2+) was applied on the olfactory epithelium of rats and pikes, and the subcellular distribution of the metal in the olfactory pathways was then examined. Two groups of rats were used: one pretreated with intranasal instillations of nonlabeled cadmium and the other given physiological saline (controls). Cellular fractionations showed that the (109)Cd(2+) was predominantly present in the cytosol of all samples, both in the rats and the pikes. Gel filtrations of the olfactory epithelium of control rats killed 2 h after the (109)Cd(2+) instillation showed that the metal was recovered in two peaks with elution volumes corresponding to metallothionein (MT) and glutathione (GSH)-the latter peak being the predominant one. However, in the epithelium of the cadmium-pretreated rats killed at 2 h, (109)Cd(2+) was recovered in one peak corresponding to MT. In the olfactory epithelium and bulbs of both groups of rats killed at 48 h, as well as in the olfactory epithelium, nerves, and bulbs of pikes killed at this interval, (109)Cd(2+) was recovered in one peak corresponding to MT. Immunohistochemistry of the olfactory system of rats given cadmium in the right nasal cavity showed induction of MT in the neuronal, sustentacular, and basal cells of the right olfactory epithelium, in the nerve fascicles in the lamina propria of the right olfactory mucosa, and in the olfactory nerve layer of the right olfactory bulb. On the left side, the immunoreactivity was low in these structures. MT immunoreactivity was observed in the glomeruli of both the right and the left olfactory bulbs. However, the staining was homogeneously distributed within the entire glomeruli of the right bulb, whereas it showed a mesh-like pattern corresponding to the localization of astrocytes in the glomeruli of the left bulb. We conclude that exposure of the olfactory epithelium to cadmium results in induction of MT in the primary olfactory neurons and a transport of the metal in these neurons as a cadmium-metallothionein (CdMT) complex. Our results further indicate that GSH is a ligand that can interact with cadmium before the metal binds to MT.  (+info)

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