Effect of the co-exposure of lead and cadmium on the hepatic and renal function from puberty to early adulthood in male mice

Objective: To observe the effects of the co-exposure of lead and cadmium during drinking water from puberty to early adulthood on the hepatic and renal function in male mice.Methods: Sixty healthy male ICR mice with 4 weeks old were randomly divided into the control group,lead group,cadmium group,and lead &cadmium group(15 mice each group).The control group,lead group,cadmium group,and lead & cadmium group were bred using the pure water,lead acetate solution,cadmium chloride solution,and mixture solution of lead acetate with cadmium chloride by oral,respectively.After 40 days of exposure,the blood was collected by removing eyeballs.The weight of liver and kidney were calculated for obtaining the organ coefficient after the mouse was sacrificed.The serum alanine aminotransferase(ALT) and alkaline phosphatase(ALP) activities,and serum creatinine(Cr) and urea nitrogen(BUN) content were detected,the histological morphology of liver and kidney was evaluated using H&E staining.Results: The daily water intake in control group,cadmium group and lead & cadmium group were lower than that in lead group(P<0.05 to P<0.01),and the daily diet intake in lead group and cadmium group were lower than that in control group and cadmium & lead group(P<0.05 to P<0.01),and the differences of body weight between four groups with 4 to 10 weeks old were not statistically significant(P>0.05).After 40 days of exposure,the differences of the body weight,liver weight,liver coefficient,serum ALT and ALP activities,and liver histological morphology in lead group,cadmium group and lead & cadmium group were not identified.The kidney weight in lead & cadmium group was lower than that in cadmium group(P<0.05),but compared with the control group,the differences of the kidney weight,liver histological morphology and serum Cr and BUN content between the control group,and the lead group,cadmium group and lead & cadmium group were not statistically significant(P>0.05). Conclusions: The co-exposure of lead and cadmium during drinking water from puberty to early adulthood can not cause the hepatic and renal function injury.