Evaluation of the effects of cadmium on rat liver

Abstract

Cadmium is one of the most toxic pollutants in environment. Cadmium accumulation in blood affects the renal cortex and causes renal failure. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of cadmium on rat liver tissue. Eighteen male albino rats aged ten weeks old were used in the study. 15 ppm of cadmium was administered to rats via consumption water daily. At the end of the 30th study day, the animals were killed under ether anesthesia. After the liver tissue samples were taken, histopathological and biochemical examinations were performed. Histopathologic changes have included vacuolar and granular degenerations in hepatocytes, heterochromatic nucleuses and sinusoidal and portal widenings. Central vein diameters were normal in cadmium exposed group. Whereas, there was statistically significant difference between two groups by means of sinusoidal (p< 0.001) and portal triad diameters (p< 0.01). Malondialdehyde (MDA) is an indicator of lipid peroxidation. In this study, MDA was used as a marker of oxidative stress-induced liver impairment in cadmium exposed rats. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities were also measured to evaluate the changes in antioxidative system in liver tissues. Current findings showed that MDA levels were increased and SOD and CAT activities were decreased in cadmium exposed group compared to control group. The difference between two groups was statistically significant (pvalues: MDA,p< 0.01; CAT,p< 0.01 and SOD,p< 0.05). In conclusion, these findings suggest the role of oxidative mechanisms in cadmium-induced liver tissue damage.

A multibiomarker approach in rats to assess the impact of pollution on Sinos River, Southern Brazil

“…Histopathology of the major organs involved in metabolism and excretion of xenobiotics, as the liver, are useful biomarkers of the effects of pollution (Koyu et al, 2006). Several studies have reported that oxidative stress plays a central role in disease pathogenesis and in tissue damage in response to toxicant exposures (Roberts et al, 2009).…”

“…Several studies have reported that oxidative stress plays a central role in disease pathogenesis and in tissue damage in response to toxicant exposures (Roberts et al, 2009). For example, Koyu et al (2006) showed that cadmium has an important toxic effect on liver tissue and concluded that cadmium exhibits its toxicity by increasing lipid peroxidation. Tabrez and Ahmad (2009) evaluated antioxidant enzymes and MDA levels of rats treated with polluted water collected from industrial regions of the urban area of India.…”

“…In the present study, no genotoxic effects were observed after exposure to Sinos substances in the Sinos River. Most data concerning the toxic effects of pollutants on the structure and function of organs come from experiments in laboratory animals exposed to a single compound, such as heavy metals (Damek-Poprawa and Sawicka-Kapusta, 2004;Koyu et al, 2006), and less frequently to complex mixtures, such as rivers. Contaminated rivers often contain a wide variety of organic and inorganic pollutants, including potentially toxic metals such as Pb, Cd, Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, Mo, and Cr (Sánchez-Chardi et al, 2007).…”

Liver and Cadmium Toxicity

“…Reactions of Cd with GSH may lead to either the formation of complexes [51] or the oxidation of GSH. Cd induces oxidative stress also by decreasing the activities of some antioxidant enzymes in the liver such as SOD, CAT and GPx [50,[52][53][54], which play an important role in the elimination of free radicals. SOD, which converts O 2…”

“…Several studies demonstrate a relationship between Cd exposure and LPO [52,54,70,71] showing that Cd increased the hepatic level of malondialdehyde (MDA). Cd, through binding to the inner membrane, enhances LPO and disturbs the integrity of mitochondrial membranes.…”