Arsenic-Copper Interaction in the Kidney of the Rat

Abstract

<jats:p> 1 The interaction between As and three toxic metals (Cd, Ni and Pb) and Cu (an essential trace metal) in the kidney was investigated in the rat by feeding diets containing various concentrations of As whilst maintaining constant concentrations of the other elements. </jats:p><jats:p> After 1, 3, 7 and 15 weeks of feeding, metal contents in the renal cortex and medulla, red blood cells and plasma were determined by atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). 2 As accumulated in the whole kidney, whereas Cu accumulated only in the cortex. Accumulation of Cu was found to depend on the feeding period and dietary As concentration. </jats:p><jats:p> 3 As was also accumulated in red blood cells, where saturation was found at 550 μg As g<jats:sup>-1</jats:sup> cells. </jats:p><jats:p> 4 Although Cd was also accumulated in the cortex, its accumulation was independent of the dietary As concentration. Ni and Pb were not detected by ICP-AES. </jats:p><jats:p> 5 Chromatography of the supernatants from cortical homogenates of control and As-treated rat kidney suggested that Cu accumulated in renal metallothionein (MT). Its accumulation in this fraction was independent of that of Cd, indicating that the As-Cu interaction was not a result of MT induction, but rather that it might result from altered renal handling of Cu with subsequent incorporation into MT. </jats:p>

Long-term effect of diet amended by risk elements contaminated soils on risk element penetration and physiological parameters of rats

“…Although the lead transport through placenta and mother's milk was described by Todorovic et al (2005), no differences between the 1 st and 2 nd generation were observed due to long-term uptake of the soil-amended diet after weaning. Among the essential elements, the most apparent effect of the risk element dietary uptake was observed in the case of Cu in the tissues of animals fed As-contaminated soil K as already observed in our previous experiment (Szakova et al 2012) and confirmed by other authors (Schmolke et al 1992;Uthus 2001;Yu and Beynen 2001;Birri et al 2010). Comparing the arsenic compounds, the Cu-As interaction was observed only if inorganic As compounds were the predominant species present.…”

Influence of elevated content of cadmium and arsenic in diet containing feeding yeast on organisms of rats

“…Differently, the cadmium level in the kidney of groups 5 and 6, where both Cd and As were added to the diet, tended to be lower compared to groups 7 and 8, where the corresponding level of Cd and no As were supplemented. These results are different from the findings of Schmolke et al (1992) when the accumulation of Cd in rat kidney was independent of the As content in the diet. However, more pronounced renal toxicity of the Cd and As mixture than the exposure to single metals was described by many authors in mice (Liu et al, 2000) and humans (Buchet et al, 2003;Nordberg et al, 2005).…”

Health effects and arsenic species in urine of copper smelter workers

“…[36] Some other animal studies support the hypothesis that tubular accumulation of As-Cu may have some bearing on the arsenic-associated nephrotoxicological process. [10,27,[36][37][38] Schmolke et al [38] suggest that the accumulation involves the process of As-Cu incorporation to kidney metallothinein. Other authors have noted that arsenic is widely distributed and significantly accumulated at levels relatively higher in the spleen, lung and kidney compared to the liver, and affects other trace elements, and also modulates MT-1 expression in the liver and kidney.…”