Dietary cadmium inhibits spontaneous hepatocarcinogenesis in C3H/HeN mice and hepatitis in A/J mice, but not in C57BL/6 mice.
Cadmium is known to be a potent carcinogenic and mutagenic metal. However, we demonstrated that dietary supplementation with 50 ppm cadmium inhibits spontaneous carcinogenesis in C3H/HeN and spontaneous hepatitis in A/J mice. We found that the frequencies of spontaneous hepatocarcinogenesis in C3H/HeN mice and of spontaneous hepatitis in A/J mice fed low-dose cadmium for 54 weeks were significantly lower than those in the respective control groups. A cadmium-induced increase in metallothionein production itself and/or metallothionein-associated increases in hepatic zinc concentrations may be involved in the observed preventive effects of cadmium. Our results suggest that low doses of cadmium in the diet or environment may play a beneficial role in the prevention of hepatic disease in humans and animals.
Nishiyama
Shoji
S
Department of Environmental Health, Kochi Medical School, Nankoku, Kochi 783-8506, Japan.
Itoh
Norio
N
Onosaka
Satomi
S
Okudaira
Masahiko
M
Yamamoto
Hiroshi
H
Tanaka
Keiichi
K
D000818:Animals; D002104:Cadmium / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004032:Diet; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008114:Liver Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D008668:Metallothionein / Q000096:biosynthesis; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D013045:Species Specificity; D015032:Zinc / Q000378:metabolism
D002104:Cadmium; D008668:Metallothionein; D015032:Zinc