Cadmium stress: an oxidative challenge

Abstract

At the cellular level, cadmium (Cd) induces both damaging and repair processes in which the cellular redox status plays a crucial role. Being not redox-active, Cd is unable to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) directly, but Cd-induced oxidative stress is a common phenomenon observed in multiple studies. The current review gives an overview on Cd-induced ROS production and anti-oxidative defense in organisms under different Cd regimes. Moreover, the Cd-induced oxidative challenge is discussed with a focus on damage and signaling as downstream responses. Gathering these data, it was clear that oxidative stress related responses are affected during Cd stress, but the apparent discrepancies observed in between the different studies points towards the necessity to increase our knowledge on the spatial and temporal ROS signature under Cd stress. This information is essential in order to reveal the exact role of Cd-induced oxidative stress in the modulation of downstream responses under a diverse array of conditions.

Cadmium exposure in the population: from health risks to strategies of prevention

“…However, exposure to toxic metals in animal studies has usually been much higher than those reported in humans environmentally exposed to toxic metals. Third, several in vitro studies have shown plausible toxicodynamic pathways, such as increased oxidative stress (as reviewed in this special issue by Cuypers et al 2010), modified activity of transcription factors (Watkin et al 2003), and inhibition of DNA repair . Most errors that arise during DNA replication can be corrected by DNA polymerase proof reading or by postreplication mismatch repair.…”

Glutathione in plants: biosynthesis and physiological role in environmental stress tolerance

“…Transportation of toxic metals to safe sequestration sites within the plant cell not only ensures a sound cellular environment but also presents an ideal perspective to abolish the toxic metals from environment by the process of bioremediation and phytoremediation (Peuke and Rennenberg 2005). The reduction of the free metal content within the plant cell can be achieved by two ways: the synthesis of specific chelators and the sequestration of metal complexes (Smeets et al 2009;Cuypers et al 2010). The high affinity for metals imparted by the GSH thiol (-SH) group, coupled with the fact that GSH is a precursor of PCs.…”

Oxidative Stress and Cardiovascular Dysfunction Associated with Cadmium Exposure: Beneficial Effects of Curcumin and Tetrahydrocurcumin

“…Involvement of ROS in Cd toxicology has been observed in a variety of cell culture systems He et al 2008) and in intact animals through all routes of exposure (Kayama et al 1995;Amara et al 2008). Since Cd is a non-Fenton metal, it is unable to generate ROS directly (Cuypers et al 2010). However, Cd induces oxidative stress indirectly by at least four mechanisms (Thevenod 2009;Cuypers et al 2010;Nair et al 2013).…”

“…Since Cd is a non-Fenton metal, it is unable to generate ROS directly (Cuypers et al 2010). However, Cd induces oxidative stress indirectly by at least four mechanisms (Thevenod 2009;Cuypers et al 2010;Nair et al 2013). First, Cd liberates redox-active metals such as iron and copper from tightly bound storages.…”

“…Normally, electron-donor atoms on the chelating molecule include sulphur, nitrogen, and/or oxygen (Sears 2013). During Cd exposure, thiols or organic sulfhydryl compounds are primarily involved in mobilizing and detoxifying Cd through the formation of Cd-thiol complexes inside the cell (Cuypers et al 2010). Interestingly, Cd can form complexes with endogenous binding proteins, particularly metallothionines (MT).…”