title: Roles of reactive oxygen species and mitochondria in cadmium-induced injury of liver cells.
abstract: The roles of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial damage in the cadmium (Cd)-induced injury of liver cells were studied by using N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) and acetyl-L-carnitine hydrochloride (ALCAR). After exposure of experimental rats to cadmium (Cd) for 16 h, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), ROS production, glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity, glutathione (GSH) content, malondialdehyde (MDA) content and DNA single-strand break (DNA-SSB) were analyzed. Loss of MMP, increase of ROS production, inhibition of GSH-Px activity, elevation of GSH content, rise of MDA content and DNA-SSB level suggest the participation of ROS and mitochondrion in Cd-induced injury of liver cell. NAC pretreatment attenuated oxidative stress, reversed the decline in GSH-Px activity and reduced GSH and MDA levels significantly. However, Cd-induced loss in MMP was significantly exacerbated by NAC. For another, ALCAR did not perform as well as NAC in terms of reducing ROS production, restoring GSH-Px activity and reducing GSH content. Nevertheless, it significantly improved the recovery of MMP and reduction of MDA content. In addition, conspicuous DNA damage was observed in the samples treated with NAC or ALCAR, indicating Cd could attack DNA through other pathways. These results suggest that oxidative stress or mitochondrial impairment plays a main role in different injuries respectively.
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, PR China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Wenting
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Chuan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Yongmei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.forename: Yingmei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000108:Acetylcarnitine / Q000494:pharmacology; D000111:Acetylcysteine / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D019256:Cadmium Chloride / Q000633:toxicity*; D056486:Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D053904:DNA Breaks, Single-Stranded / Q000187:drug effects; D004336:Drug Antagonism; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers / Q000494:pharmacology; D005978:Glutathione / Q000378:metabolism; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase / Q000378:metabolism; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000378:metabolism; D053078:Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial / Q000187:drug effects; D008930:Mitochondria, Liver / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D008315:Malondialdehyde; D000108:Acetylcarnitine; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase; D005978:Glutathione; D019256:Cadmium Chloride; D000111:Acetylcysteine