title: Cadmium, lead and mercury concentrations in pathologically altered human kidneys.
abstract: Heavy metals, including cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg) act as nephrotoxic agents, particularly in the renal cortex. The aim of the study was to determine the concentrations of Cd, Pb and Hg in kidneys removed from patients due to lesions of various etiologies and from patients after the rejection of transplanted kidneys. Additionally, we determined the influence of selected biological and environmental factors on the concentrations of toxic metals. The study material consisted of kidneys with tumor lesions (n = 27), without tumors (n = 7) and its extracted grafts (n = 10) obtained from patients belongs to the north-western areas of Poland. The determined metal concentrations in the renal cortex and medulla may be arranged in the following descending order: Cd > Pb > Hg. The highest concentrations of Cd and Hg were found in the cortex, while the maximum content Pb was observed in the medulla. Significant correlations were found in the concentrations of the same metals between cortex and medulla and between Pb and Hg in the renal medulla. Pb content was higher in the renal medulla of men than in the cortex of the elderly (above 60 years of age). The highest concentrations of Pb and Hg were found in the cortex and medulla, of the kidneys had not neoplastic changes, and lower content of these metals were found in the extracted kidney grafts. In summary, renal grafts accumulate less heavy metals than cancerous kidneys, what could have been caused by immunosuppressors taken by the graft recipients. Moreover, sex, age and smoking are key factors responsible for xenobiotics concentrations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Medical Parasitology, Pomeranian Medical University, al. Powstańców Wielkopolskich 72, 70-111, Szczecin, Poland.|Department of Histology and Embryology, Pomeranian Medical University, al. Powstańców Wielkopolskich 72, 70-111, Szczecin, Poland.
authors.forename: Aleksandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wilk
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Medical Parasitology, Pomeranian Medical University, al. Powstańców Wielkopolskich 72, 70-111, Szczecin, Poland.
authors.forename: Elżbieta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kalisińska
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Medical Parasitology, Pomeranian Medical University, al. Powstańców Wielkopolskich 72, 70-111, Szczecin, Poland. kodan@pum.edu.pl.
authors.forename: Danuta I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Kosik-Bogacka
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery and Transplantation, Pomeranian Medical University, al. Powstańców Wielkopolskich 72, 70-111, Szczecin, Poland.
authors.forename: Maciej
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Romanowski
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Transplantology and Internal Medicine, Pomeranian Medical University, al. Powstańców Wielkopolskich 72, 70-111, Szczecin, Poland.
authors.forename: Jacek
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Różański
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Transplantology and Internal Medicine, Pomeranian Medical University, al. Powstańców Wielkopolskich 72, 70-111, Szczecin, Poland.
authors.forename: Kazimierz
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ciechanowski
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology and Urological Oncology, Pomeranian Medical University, al. Powstańców Wielkopolskich 72, 70-111, Szczecin, Poland.
authors.forename: Marcin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Słojewski
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Medical Parasitology, Pomeranian Medical University, al. Powstańców Wielkopolskich 72, 70-111, Szczecin, Poland.
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Łanocha-Arendarczyk
mesh_terms: D002104:Cadmium / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007672:Kidney Cortex / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000473:pathology; D007679:Kidney Medulla / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000473:pathology; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry*; D007854:Lead / Q000032:analysis*; D008297:Male; D008628:Mercury / Q000032:analysis*; D011044:Poland; D019737:Transplants / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D002104:Cadmium; D007854:Lead; D008628:Mercury
keywords: Cortex; Kidney grafts; Medulla; Renal cell carcinoma; Xenobiotic metals