Effect of chronic intake of cadmium chloride on the transcriptional activity of metallothionein and zinc transporter genes

Introduction. Cadmium chloride is an inorganic compound containing cadmium, a heavy metal that is one of the active environmental pollutants today. Damage to organs in experimental animals due to cadmium poisoning is similar to that in humans. In this work, the activity of metallothionein and zinc transporters genes was studied in a chronic model of cadmium-induced poisoning in experimental animals. Materials and methods. The experiment was carried out using seventy two individuals of white inbred rats of both sexes, the average weight of which was 215 g. Animals from four groups were injected with a solution of cadmium chloride in four different doses, respectively, individuals of the fifth group, the control group, received an equimolar volume of pure water. The objects of the study were the kidneys and livers of rats, removed after the animals were withdrawn from the experiment. Next, the activity of the Mt1A, Mt2A, Mt3A, Zip1 and Znt1 genes was analyzed in organ samples using real-time PCR. Results. Significant increases in the expression multiplicity of Mt1A, Mt2A and Mt3A metallothionein genes in the kidneys at different doses of the toxicant were revealed. In liver samples, a decrease in the expression of the Mt2A gene was found in the experimental group exposed to cadmium chloride at a dose of 0.1 mg/kg (p<0.05). For the Znt1 gene in rat liver tissue, there was a statistically significant decrease in expression at a dose of 0.001 mg/kg (p<0.05) and, conversely, an increase at doses of 0.1 and 1 mg/kg (p<0.05) compared to the control group. Analysis of the level of transcripts of the Zip1 gene in the kidneys and liver after 6 months of inoculation with the toxicant in the presented doses did not reveal statistically significant differences between the groups. Limitations. Laboratory animals of the only biological species were used for the experiment. Four doses of the cadmium salt alone were evaluated. Conclusion. The results obtained allow concluding that the level of expression of the Mt1A, Mt2A and Mt3A genes in the kidneys can play the role of a diagnostic marker in chronic poisoning with the toxicant under study.