title: The hormetic effect of cadmium on the activity of antioxidant enzymes in the earthworm Eisenia fetida.
abstract: The hormetic dose-response relationships induced by environmental toxic agents are often characterized by low-dose stimulation and high-dose inhibition. Confirmation of the general phenomenon of hormesis may have significant implications for ecological risk assessment, although the mechanisms that underlie hormesis remain an enigma. In this study, a model-based approach for describing a dose-response relationship incorporating the hormetic effect was applied to the detection and estimation of the hormetic effect of cadmium (Cd) on the activity of antioxidant enzymes in the earthworm Eisenia fetida. The results showed that Cd at low concentrations induced an increase in the activity of catalase and superoxide dismutase (SOD), but high concentrations inhibited the enzymes, and this was reflected in an inverted U-shaped curve. The maximum hormetic magnitude of SOD activity was higher than that of catalase. The presence of hormesis induced by cadmium in the earthworm may be related to activation of adaptive pathways.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Urban Agriculture (South), Ministry of Agriculture, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, PR China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Guoqing
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Yueshu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Hongling
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism*; D002104:Cadmium / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002374:Catalase / Q000378:metabolism*; D059165:Hormesis / Q000187:drug effects*; D009835:Oligochaeta / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000502:physiology; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D002104:Cadmium; D002374:Catalase; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase