• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.15-22
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• 2009

This study was performed to investigate the effect of chlorella on cadmium (Cd) toxicity in Cd-administered rats. Sixty male Sprague-Dawley rats (14 week-old) were blocked into 6 groups. Cadmium chloride was given at levels of 0 or 325 mg (Cd: 0, 160 ppm), and chlorella powder at levels of 0, 3 and 5%. Cadmium was accumulated in blood and tissues (liver, kidney and small intestine) in the Cd-exposed groups, while the accumulation of Cd was decreased in the Cd-exposed chlorella groups. Fecal and urinary Cd excretions were remarkably increased in Cd-exposed chlorella groups. Thus, cadmium retention ratio and absorption rate were decreased in the Cd exposed chlorella groups. Urinary and serum creatinine, and creatinine clearance were not changed in experimental animals. In addition, metallothionein (MT) synthesis in tissues was increased by Cd administration. The Cd-exposed chlorella groups indicated lower MT concentration compared to the Cd-exposed groups. Moreover, glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was not changed by dietary chI orella and Cd administration. According to the results above, this study could suggest that Cd toxicity can be alleviated by increasing Cd excretion through feces. Therefore, when exposed to Cd, chlorella is an appropriate source which counteracts heavy metal poisoning, to decrease the damage of tissues by decreasing cadmium absorption.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.1328-1339
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• 2024

Cadmium (Cd) is a prevalent environmental contaminant that poses a potential hazard to the health of both humans and animals. In this study, biosynthesized selenium-enriched Lactobacillus plantarum and selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) were developed and evaluated for their protective effects against Cd-induced hepatic injury in mice through oral administration for 4 weeks. Cadmium exposure resulted in severe impairment of liver function, as evidenced by increased levels of serum markers of liver injury and, oxidative stress and significant damage to liver tissue, and a notable decrease in the diversity of the intestinal microbiota. Oral administration of Se-enriched L. plantarum (LS) reduced cadmium accumulation in the liver by 49.5% and, restored other cadmium-induced damage markers to normal levels. A comparison of the effects with those of L. plantarum (L) and SeNPs isolated from LS revealed that LS could more effectively alleviate hepatic oxidative stress and reduce the intrahepatic inflammatory responses of the liver, further protecting against cadmium-induced liver injury. These findings suggest that the development of LS may be effective at protecting the liver and intestinal tract from cadmium-induced damage.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.16-22
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• 1995

This study was designed to investigate the antibody production to sheep red blood cells(SRBC) and proliferation of mitogen-stimulated spleen cells in Balb/c mice which received cadmium chloride. The mice were divided into three independent groups which were one control and two experimental groups by the cadmium treatment or not. No specific treatment was done for the control group. One of two experimental groups, which is called 'pre-treatment group' in this paper, was subcutaneously injected with low dose of cadmium chloride(0.5 mg/kg/day) for 5 consecutive days before the primary SRBC immunization. The other called 'non-pretreatment group' was only pretreated with normal saline. Both experimental groups were intraperitoneally injected with high dose of cadmium chloride(5 mg/kg) 8 hours before the primary immunization. Mice were intraperitoneally immunized twice with 2% SRBC suspension containing $10^8$ cells. The results obtained were as follows, 1. The PFG responses to SRBC were significantly increased in two experimental groups, cadmium pretreatment and non-pretreatment compared with that of control group(p<0.05). 2. The total antibody titers to SRBC in cadmium treated groups were similar to that of control group, but titers of IgG antibody were significantly elevated(p<0.01). 3. The proliferation response of spleen lymphocytes to various mitogens was suppressed in proportion to the concentration of cadmium and the degree of cadmium accumulation in liver was increased in the cadmium treated groups. These results suggest that cadmium chloride could affect on mouse immune response, especially its cell mediated immune response could be decreased while its humoral immune response could be increased, which may not be influenced by the administration methods or pretreatment of cadmium to mouse.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.21-26
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• 2002

Effects of cadmium (Cd) intoxication on renal endosomal accumulation of organic cations $(OC^+)$ were studied in rats using $^{14}C-tetraethylammnium$ (TEA) as a substrate. Cd intoxication was induced by s.c. injections of 2 mg Cd/kg/day for $2{\sim}3$ weeks. Renal cortical endosomes were isolated and the endosomal acidification (acridine orange fluorescence change) and TEA uptake (Millipore filtration technique) were assessed. The TEA uptake was an uphill transport mediated by $H^+/OC^+$ antiporter driven by the pH gradient established by $H^+-ATPase.$ In endosomes of Cd-intoxicated rats, the ATP-dependent TEA uptake was markedly attenuated due to inhibition of endosomal acidification as well as $H^+/TEA$ antiport. In kinetic analysis of $H^+/TEA$ antiport, Vmax was reduced and Km was increased in the Cd group. Inhibition of $H^+/TEA$ antiport was also observed in normal endosomes directly exposed to free Cd (but not Cd-metallothionein complex, CdMt) in vitro. These data suggest that during chronic Cd exposure, free Cd ions liberated by lysosomal degradation of CdMt in proximal tubule cells may impair the endosomal accumulation of $OC^+$ by directly inhibiting the $H^+/OC^+$ antiporter activity and indirectly by reducing the intravesicular acidification, the driving force for $H^+/OC^+$ exchange.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.797-810
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• 2023

Elaeagnus umbellata leaves have been reported to suppress inflammation, allergic responses, lung cancer proliferation and oral bacterial growth. Cadmium (Cd) is a heavy metal that has been found to cause many toxicities, including liver toxicity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the capacity of 70% ethanol extract of E. umbellata leaves (EUL) to protect human hepatocytes from Cd toxicity. After exposure of HepG2 cells to Cd at 10 𝜇M for 24 h, cell viability, expression levels of apoptosis- and antioxidant-related proteins, reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and Cd uptake were assessed. EUL protected HepG2 cells from Cd-induced apoptosis as determined by MTT assay. A decrease in caspase-3 and p-p53 protein levels was observed in cells pretreated with EUL prior to Cd exposure. Furthermore, the Cd-induced increase in intracellular DCF fluorescence was attenuated by EUL, indicating that the Cd-induced apoptosis preventing effect was associated with the suppression of ROS accumulation. Moreover, EUL's effects on the inhibition of p38, JNK, and AKT phosphorylation also appear to be associated with protection against Cd toxicity. Moreover, EUL upregulated Cd-depressed expression of Nrf2, HO-1, catalase, and MT-1,2 proteins, suggesting that Cd uptake-induced apoptosis in HepG2 cells may be inhibited by EUL's antioxidative potential.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.64-72
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• 1994

Tolerance to toxic effects of cadmium (Cd), including lethality has been shown following pretreatment with cadmium and zinc. This study was designed to determine if tolerance also develops to Cd-induced hepatotoxicity and renal toxicity. Three groups of rats (A, B, C), each consisting of 108 rats, were studied and each group was divided into three subgroups (1, 2, 3), 12 rats for each subgroup. Rats were subcutaneously pretreated with saline (A), CdCl$_2$ (0.5 mg/kg, B), and ZnCl$_2$ (13.0 mg/kg, C) during time periods of 5 days. At the end of the period, rats were challenged with CdCIa (3.0 and 6.0 mg/kg) by intraperitoneal injection. As for the cadmium levels in rat tissues after pretreatments, it was highest in the liver. Then kidney, heart, blood and muscle followed it in that order. After 24, 48 and 96 hours of intraperitoneal injection by challenge doses the concentration of cadmium in liver and kidney increased proportionally to the increase of challenge dosage. However metallothioneins in liver and kidney were increased by the pretreatment of cadmium and zinc. These data indicate the liver is a major target organ of acute Cd poisoning, and suggest that cadmium induced hepatic injury, via release of Cd-MT, may play and important role in the nephrotoxicity observed in response to short-term exposure to cadmium. This result suggests that increasing cadmium concentrations, gradually accumulating in liver and kidney as the result of the pretteatmerit, served to induced the synthesis of metallothionein, thus making them resistant to the challenge from cadmium.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.22-25
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• 2013

This study was performed in order to investigate the effects of taurine on cadmium poisoning in muscle, gill, and bone tissues of wild goldfish. For this experiment, 80 wild goldfish were divided into four experimental groups: 0.3 mg/L of cadmium and 0 mg/L of taurine (Group I), 0.3 mg/L of cadmium and 20 mg/kg of taurine (Group II), 0.3 mg/L of cadmium and 40 mg/L of taurine (Group III), and 0.3 mg/L of cadmium and 80 mg/L of taurine (Group IV). The results were as follows: The cadmium concentration in muscle tissue of wild goldfish was 0.65-3.21 mg/kg wet wt in Group I, whereas it decreased in Group IV. Levels of cadmium in gill tissue of wild goldfish were 16.57-42.39 mg/kg wet wt in Group I, 15.23-43.01 mg/kg wet wt in Group II, 15.11-39.56 mg/kg wet wt in Group III, and 13.15-38.55 mg/kg wet wt in Group IV (P < 0.05), suggesting that the cadmium concentration decreased in the experimental groups compared to control. The cadmium concentration in bone tissue of wild goldfish after 28 days was 0.52-9.75 mg/kg in Group II, whereas it increased in Group III (P < 0.05). In conclusion, taurine may have a preventive effect against cadmium accumulation in biological tissues.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.1355-1363
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• 1999

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of vitamin E on liver microsomal cytochrome P450 contents and xanthine oxidase activity in acute cadmium poisoned rats. Sprague Dawley male rats weighing 100$\pm$10g were randomly assigned to one normal and three cadmium injected groups. Cadmium injected groups were fed vitamin E free diet(0E Cd group), 40mg vitamin E per kg diet(40E Cd group) or 400mg vitamin E per kg diet(400E Cd group). Vitamin E level of normal group was 40mg per kg diet. Animals were injected intraperitoneally with 2.0mg Cd2+/kg bw for 4 days after the rats were fed diets with three different levels of vitamin E for 2 and 4 weeks. Body weight, food intake and feed efficiency ratio of cadmium injected animals, were decreased compared with those of normal group. The weights of liver and kidney in cadmium injected groups were not different from those of normal group. Cadmium contents of liver in cadmium groups were 160 fold higher those that of normal group. Accumulation of cadmium poisoned rat liver was reduced by vitamin E supplementation. Contents of blood hemoglobin and hematocrit in 0E Cd groups were decreased to 2~ 14% of those of the other groups. Contents of serum triglyceride in all experimental groups were not significantly different each other. Levels of serum total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and antherogenic index in 0E Cd and 40E Cd groups were higher than those of normal group, while the contents of HDL cholesterol in 0E Cd and 40E Cd groups were lower than those of normal group. Xanthine oxidase(XOD) activity and cytochrome P450 contents in the liver were significantly increased in cadmium injected groups but these were reduced by vitamin E supplementations. The present results indicate that acute cadmium poisoning in rats causes increasing free radical generation systems in the liver and that leads to liver tissue damage. But these abnormalities can be reduced by dietary vitamin E supplementations.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.215-223
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• 2001

Cadmium is an ubiquitous toxic metal and chronic exposure to cadmium results in the accumulation of cadmium in the liver and kidneys. In contrast, acute exposure leads to damage mainly in the liver. Apoptosis induced by cadmium has been shown in many tissues in vivo and in cultured cells in vitro. However, the molecular mechanism of cadmium-induced apoptosis is not clear in hepatocyte. To investigate the induction of apoptosis in the hepatocyte, we used mouse hepatoma cell line, Hepalclc7 cells, and analysed the molecules that involved in cadmium-induced apoptosis. Cadmium induced the genomic DNA fragmentation, PARP cleavage, and activation of caspase-3 like protease. Caspase-9 cysteine protease was activated in a time-dependent manner but caspase-8 cysteine protease was not significantly activated in cadmium-treated Hepalclc7 cells. Cadmium also induced mitochondrial dysfunction including cytochrome c release from mitochondria, change oj mitochondrial membrane potential tranition, and tranlocation of Bax Protein into mitochondria. These results strong1y indicated that the signal Pathway of apoptotic death in cadmium-treated Hepalclc7 cells is modulated by caspase cascade via mitochondria.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.77-85
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• 1992

Of the cadmium-tolerant 162 bacterial strains isolated from soils, river waters or active sludges of waste-water disposal plants in the Gyeongnam province a strain C1, which showed considerably higher growth rate in the agar plate containing 2000 ppm than any other strains isolated, was identified as a Pseudomonas putida or its similar strain when analyzed by taxonomical characteristics. Optimum pH and temperature for the growth of the P, putida were 7.0 and $30^{\circ}C$, respectively. This strain was resistant to antibiotics(ampicillin, chloramphenicol and streptomycin), and heavy metals(lithium, cupper, lead and zinc). This strain utilized salicylate, naphthalene or xylene as a sole carbon source. The rate of cadmium accumulation in P. putida cell was enhanced at low concentration of Cd in the growth media. The maximum cadmium absorption by this strain grown in 1 and l0ppm of Cd was respectively 78% and 60% 24 hrs after culture, but in 100 ppm Cd, 40% 48 hrs after culture. Addition of a non-ionic surfactant Triton X-100(0.1%) to the medium enhanced the accumulation of cadmium in the P. putida up to approximately 37%.