Some effects of oral ingestion of cadmium on zinc, copper, and iron metabolism.

Data are presented to show that ingestion of cadmium chloride by rats at low levels leads to alteration of zinc metabolism in the liver, even though the formation of metallothionein is not evident. A dose-response relationship between amount of cadmium ingested and degree of perturbation of zinc metabolism in liver was found. Oral cadmium was shown to cause emphysema and reduce pulmonary function in male rats; the effect was less severe or delayed in onset if dietary zinc concentration was high. Interference with copper and iron metabolism was shown to occur in rats given low levels of cadmium orally. Depression of copper and iron metabolism of the rat fetus was found to occur when dams received very low doses of cadmium during gestation, even though very little cadmium passed the placental barrier.