COPPER CONTENT IN CADMIUM-EXPOSED ANIMAL KIDNEY METALLOTHIONEINS

Cadmium chloride was injected intraperitoneally into five animals (mouse, hamster, rat, guinea-pig, and rabbit) with the same amount of cadmium per body weight. The concentrations of three metals (Cd, Zn, and Cu) in the 105,000 g supernatant and in the heat-treated supernatant of livers and kidneys of the cadmium-exposed animals were determined by atomic absorption analyses. The supernatants of both organs were applied to a Sephadex G-75 column and the distribution profiles of the three metals were analyzed to show the metal contents in the metallothionein fraction. The results indicated that the amount of retained cadmium and the increased amount of zinc in both organs were different from animal to animal and that the metals were bound to metallothionein. The most significant result was that the five animals were divided into two groups according to changes of increased copper in the renal metallothionein of cadmium-exposed animals. One group had a dramatic increase in copper content while the other group had little or no increase in copper content for the renal metallothionein after exposure to cadmium. Rat and guinea-pig belonged to the former group and mouse, hamster, and rabbit belonged to the latter group. © 1979 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.