Experimental studies on the effects of GSH and vitamin E on toxicity caused by cadmium

Objectives To study the effects of glutathione (GSH) and vitamin E on toxicity caused by cadmium.Methods Four groups of Syrian hamsters were injected subcutaneously with 0,35,60 and 70 μmol cadmium chloride(CdCl 2) per kilogram of body weight(kg),respectively.Another two groups of the hamsters were pretreated with GSH and vitamin E,respectively and then injected subcutaneously with 70 μmol/kg CdCl 2.Serum activities of lactic dehydrogenase(LDH) and alanine transaminase(ALT),urine activity of LDH,urine protein,cadmium level in the liver and renal cortex were determined for the animals 24 hours after treatment with cadmium.Results Serum activities of LDH and ALT increased with cadmium dose of exposure,and those were significantly higher in the group with 70 μmol/kg CdCl 2 than in the controls.There was no significant difference in urine LDH and urine protein between groups with various cadmium doses and controls.Cadmium levels in the liver and renal cortex increased with cadmium dose of exposure in various groups.GSH in the renal cortex in the cadmium exposed groups were significantly higher than in the controls,but there was no significant difference in liver GSH between various groups and the controls.Serum activities of LDH and ALT in the hamsters pretreated with GSH and vitamin E before cadmium administration were significantly lower than those with cadmium only,and GSH level in the former was also significantly lower than that in the latter.Cadmium in the renal cortex of the hamsters pretreated with vitamin E was also lower than that in those only with cadmium.Conclusions Acute exposure to cadmium mainly caused liver damage in the hamsters.Pretreatment with GSH and vitamin E can antagonize the liver damage caused by cadmium,which could be attributed to,as postulated,their effects on anti oxidation and stabilization of biological membrane,rather than the changes in GSH level.