Cadmium Intoxication of Pregnant Rats and Fetuses: Interactions of Copper Supplementation

Enli, Yasar; Turgut, Sebahat; Oztekin, Ozer; Demir, Suleyman; Enli, Havane; Turgut, Gunfer

doi:10.1016/j.arcmed.2010.03.003

« Previous Next »Archives of Medical Research
Volume 41, Issue 1 , Pages 7-13, January 2010

Cadmium Intoxication of Pregnant Rats and Fetuses: Interactions of Copper Supplementation

Yasar Enli
- Department of Biochemistry, Pamukkale University Faculty of Medicine, Denizli, Turkey
- Address reprint requests to: Dr. Yasar Enli, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Pamukkale University, Kinikli Kampusu, Morfoloji Binasi, 20070, Denizli, Turkey; Phone: +90.532 7914727; FAX: +90.258 2962433
Sebahat Turgut
- Department of Physiology, Pamukkale University Faculty of Medicine, Denizli, Turkey
Ozer Oztekin
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Pamukkale University Faculty of Medicine, Denizli, Turkey
Suleyman Demir
- Department of Biochemistry, Pamukkale University Faculty of Medicine, Denizli, Turkey
Havane Enli
- Public Health Center, Denizli, Turkey
Gunfer Turgut
- Department of Physiology, Pamukkale University Faculty of Medicine, Denizli, Turkey

Received 16 June 2009; accepted 12 October 2009.

(ARCMED-D-09-00271)

Background and Aims

Cadmium (Cd) is an industrial and environmental pollutant that was shown to be involved in the development of some diseases. Due to high amounts of Cd in cigarettes, smokers and passive smokers are exposed to high amount of Cd. We aimed to determine whether Copper (Cu) supplementation would have a protective effect against Cd intoxication in pregnant rats and their fetuses.

Methods

Experiments were performed on 27 adult female Wistar albino rats divided into three experimental groups. CdCl₂, CdCl₂ plus CuSO₄ and only drinking water was given to different groups for 21 days. We measured cadmium (Cd), malondialdehyde (MDA), reduced glutathione (GSH), myeloperoxidase (MPO), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) levels in dams' liver, dams' kidney, fetus liver, fetus kidney, and placenta of rats.

Results

In all tissues of Cd and Cd + Cu-treated groups, Cd levels were found to be increased significantly when compared to control group. MDA levels and MPO activities were significantly increased whereas GSH levels, activities of SOD and CAT were decreased in Cd groups when compared to control group. Cu supplementation significantly prevented the increment in MDA levels and brought MPO activities back to control levels or below. Cd-induced reductions in GSH levels and SOD activities were also prevented by Cu supplementation. An increase of CAT activity after Cu supplementation was enough to revert to the control levels in some tissues.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that Cu supplementation may have a protective effect against the Cd-induced oxidative stress in liver, kidney and placental tissues of pregnant rats and fetuses.

Key Words: Cadmium, Oxidative stres, Copper supplementation, Pregnancy, Fetus, Placenta