Effects of Zinc, Cadmium, Silver and Mercury on the Absorption and Distribution of Copper-64 in Rats

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Abstract
The effects of high levels of zinc, cadmium, silver, and mercury on the absorption and distribution of 64Cu were studied. A technique for placing doses of 64Cu and the accompanying antagonist directly into in vivo ligated segments of the rat gastrointestinal tract was used. The following results were obtained: Zinc affected copper uptake from the stomach and from the duodenum in the same manner and to about the same extent. In both cases, high levels of zinc depressed 64Cu uptake, but did not produce any change in the tissue distribution pattern. Cadmium depressed 64Cu uptake severely, caused increases in the relative proportions of 64Cu observed in the blood, heart, and spleen, and decreased the proportion retained by the liver. Silver had little effect on 64Cu uptake, but a significantly greater proportion of the absorbed isotope was deposited in the liver, and significantly less was retained by the blood of the silver-treated rats. Mercury produced a moderate, but not statistically significant, lowering of 64Cu uptake, an increase in the relative percentage of 64Cu noted in the kidney, and a decrease in the proportions of 64Cu retained by the blood and by the liver.