Cadmium, zinc, copper and metallothionein levels in the kidney and liver of humans from central Poland

Abstract

Cd, Zn, Cu, and metallothionein (MT) levels have been determined in the renal cortex and liver of 70 persons who died in Lodz and its surroundings in the years 1985-1989. The mean concentrations were: 44.9±28.6 µg Cd/g, 52.0±16.7 µg Zn/g, 2.4±1.0 µg Cu/g, 0.79±0.40 µmol Hg/g, and 3.5±1.8 µg Cd/g, 66.7±30.5 µg Zn/g, 4.9±2.1 µg Cu/g, 0.50±0.38 µmol Hg/g wet tissue in renal cortex and liver, respectively, with mean age 54.0±13.8. Smokers showed 2.4 times higher levels of Cd in the renal cortex than non-smokers. The mean body burden of Cd was 33.4±17.3 mg. Smoking increases it twofold from 22.0 mg in non-smokers to 41.8 mg in smokers.

Bioelements and mineral matter in human livers from the highly industrialized region of the Upper Silesia Coal Basin (Poland)

“…Since the 1980s, monitoring has been carried out on the population of Upper Silesia with the environs of the cities of Bialystok, Lublin, and Łodz as reference areas (Bem et al 1993a, b). No data on the metal contents in livers of donors from these regions has been published up to now.…”

Review of polyphenol‐rich products as potential protective and therapeutic factors against cadmium hepatotoxicity

“…An autopsy study in a group of 150 humans at various ages, exposed to low levels of Cd, has shown that on average 90% of the total body burden of this xenobiotic is stored in the liver and kidneys (Yoo et al, ). According to the post‐mortem investigations among people environmentally exposed to Cd, the metal content in the liver accounts for 4%‐11% of its total pool in the liver and kidneys (Table S1) (Bem et al, ; Gerhardsson, Englyst, Lundström, Sandberg, & Nordberg, ; Johansen, Mulvad, Pedersen, Hansen, & Riget, ; Satarug et al, ; Yoo et al, ). The liver has been considered the target of short‐term exposure to Cd and after acute intoxication it is the organ where the concentration of this metal is the highest, while the kidney is the main organ of this heavy metal accumulation during long‐term intoxication (Brzóska, Gałażyn‐Sidorczuk, et al, ; Dudley, Svoboda, & Klaassen, ; Eybl, Kotyzova, & Koutensky, ; Grosicki, ; Jihen, Imed, Fatima, & Abdelhamid, ).…”

“…The accumulation of Cd in the liver depends on many factors such as pollution of the environment and food products by this metal, smoking habit, age and gender, as well as the nutritional status and health conditions of an exposed person (Tables S2-S4) (Bem et al, 1993;Benedetti, Samuel, Dewailly, Gingras, & Lefebvre, 1999;EFSA, 2012;Satarug et al, 2001Satarug et al, , 2002Satarug, Swaddiwudhipong, Ruangyuttikarn, Nishijo, & Ruiz, 2013;Schöpfer, Drasch, & Schrauzer, 2010;UNEP, 2010;Yoo et al, 2002). This toxic element accumulation in the liver changes with age, rising progressively until maturity, then only slightly climbing in adults reaching the highest concentration in the group of 40-60 years old subjects and finally declines in older age groups (Table S2) (Benedetti et al, 1999;Satarug et al, 2001).…”

“…An important factor determining the body burden of Cd and the content of this metal in the liver is habitual tobacco smoking (Benedetti et al, 1999;Satarug et al, 2002Satarug et al, , 2013. Owing to the particularly high ability of the tobacco plant to uptake and accumulate Cd, habitual smoking is a significant source of this heavy metal intoxication (Bem et al, 1993;Benedetti et al, 1999;EFSA, 2012;Satarug et al, 2002Satarug et al, , 2013. The average Cd content in one cigarette ranges from 0.5 to 2 μg of which approximately 10%-20% of the element inhaled with the tobacco smoke is absorbed in the lungs (Gałażyn-Sidorczuk, Brzóska, & Moniuszko-Jakoniuk, 2008;Satarug et al, 2013).…”

“…It is well-established that the Cd concentration in the liver depends on gender (Table S4) (Bem et al, 1993;Satarug et al, 2002;Uetani et al, 2006;Yoo et al, 2002). The concentration of this metal in the liver of women is higher compared to men (Table S4).…”