Influence of Cadmium on the Intestinal Uptake and Absorption of Calcium in the Rat

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Abstract
To determine the effects of cadmium on the intestinal absorption of calcium, everted gut sacs from rats orally dosed with 0, 0.05, 0.5 or 5.0 mg Cd daily for 3 weeks were placed in media containing 4 × 10-5m Ca. Tissue content of calcium after 1 hour incubation was approximately 1.5 times greater for the 5-mg Cd dose. Serosal fluid content of calcium was decreased by the 0.5- and 5-mg Cd/day doses. In other experiments, gut sacs were incubated in bathing media containng 4 × 10-5 Ca and Cd in concentrations of 10-4 to 10-2m. Tissue and serosal fluid uptake of calcium decreased as Cd concentration increased. To determine the effects of cadmium on the accumulation of calcium against a concentration gradient, equimolar concentrations of Cd were placed in the mucosal and serosal fluids. Cadmium was added to the mucosal fluid. The accumulation of calcium was abolished by 1.5 × 10-4m Cd while at 10-6m Cd the accumulation was decreased to one-third the control value. The results indicate that acute or chronic exposure of the intestine to cadmium decreases the intestinal absorption of calcium.