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The relationships of urinary metallothionein with other indicators of renal dysfunction in people living in a cadmium‐polluted area in Japan
Author(s) -
Tohyama Chiharu,
Mitane Yuko,
Kobayashi Etsuko,
Sugihira Naoko,
Nakano Atsuhiro,
Saito Hiroshi
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
journal of applied toxicology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.784
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1099-1263
pISSN - 0260-437X
DOI - 10.1002/jat.2550080104
Subject(s) - metallothionein , urinary system , cadmium , beta 2 microglobulin , excretion , creatinine , uric acid , endocrinology , medicine , kidney , urine , renal function , physiology , chemistry , organic chemistry
An epidemiologic investigation was carried out to study the significance of urinary excretion of metallothionein (MT) in people aged 50 years and over living in a cadmium (Cd)‐polluted area in Japan. The urinary level of MT was compared with various parameters (age, urinary α 1 ‐microglobulin (α 1 ‐MG), β 2 ‐microglobulin (β 2 ‐MG), total protein, Cd, copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn), and relative clearances to creatinine of α 1 ‐MG, β 2 ‐MG, phosphate and uric acid). It was found that the urinary excretion of MT is closely associated with Cd and the indices of renal dysfunction listed above. This observation was more remarkable in women than men. When subjects with signs of renal dysfunction were compared as a group to those with normal renal functions, the excreted amount of MT in the former is significantly greater. The results support the notion that the urinary excretion of MT reflects not only Cd exposure levels but also renal dysfunction caused by long‐term Cd exposure.