Modification of skin-graft rejection and acceptance by low concentrations of cadmium in drinking water of mice.
Skin allograft rejection and isograft acceptance was studied in Balb/c mice exposed to 0, 0.01, 0.1, 1.0, or 10.0 ppm cadmium in drinking water beginning 4 wk prior to grafting. Cadmium exposure was associated with a dose-dependent acceleration of the rejection of allografts prepared from the tail skin of C57/BL mice. The mean time to allograft rejection decreased from 10.4 d in non-metal-exposed recipients to 7.4 d in mice exposed to 10 ppm cadmium. Cadmium exposure was also associated with a dose-dependent increase in the time to isograft acceptance (8.6 d in control mice compared to 11.0 d in mice exposed to 10 ppm cadmium). In addition, some isografts were rejected by animals exposed to 1 or 10 ppm cadmium. It is suggested that a cadmium-induced modification of the wound-healing process could explain both the allograft and isograft response, although an effect of cadmium on the immune response to histoincompatible tissue may also play a role in the accelerated allograft rejection.
D000818:Animals; D002104:Cadmium / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005618:Fresh Water; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000187:drug effects*; D007111:Immunity, Cellular / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D016038:Skin Transplantation; D013997:Time Factors
D002104:Cadmium