Cadmium (Cd) is the most widely studied heavy metal in terms of food-chain accumulation and contamination because it can strongly affect all environments (e.g., soil, water, air). It can accumulate in different tissues and organs and can affect the organism at different levels of organization: from organs, tissues and cells though cell organelles and structures to activation of mechanisms of survival and cell death. In soil-dwelling organisms heavy metals gather in all tissues with accumulation properties: midgut, salivary glands, fat body. The aim of this study was to describe the effects of cadmium on the soil species Lithobius forficatus, mainly on two organs responsible for gathering different substances, the fat body and salivary glands, at the ultrastructural level. Changes caused by cadmium short- and long-term intoxication, connected with cell death (autophagy, apoptosis, necrosis), and the crosstalk between them, were analyzed. Adult specimens of L. forficatus were collected in a natural environment and divided into three experimental groups: C (the control group), Cd1 (cultured in soil with 80 mg/kg of CdCl₂ for 12 days) and Cd2 (cultured in soil with 80 mg/kg of CdCl₂ for 45 days). Transmission electron microscopy revealed ultrastructural alterations in both of the organs analyzed (reduction in the amount of reserve material, the appearance of vacuoles, etc.). Qualitative analysis using TUNEL assay revealed distinct crosstalk between autophagy and necrosis in the fat body adipocytes, while crosstalk between autophagy, apoptosis and necrosis in the salivary glands was detected in salivary glands of the centipedes examined here. We conclude that different organs in the body can react differently to the same stressor, as well as to the same concentration and time of exposure. Different mechanisms at the ultrastructural level activate different types of cell death and with different dynamics.

镉 (Cd) 是在食物链积累和污染方面研究最广泛的重金属，因为它可以强烈影响所有环境（例如土壤、水、空气）。它可以在不同的组织和器官中积累，并可以在不同的组织层次上影响生物体：从器官、组织和细胞到细胞器和结构，再到激活生存和细胞死亡机制。在土居生物中，重金属聚集在所有具有积累特性的组织中：中肠、唾液腺、脂肪体。本研究的目的是描述镉对土壤物种Lithobius forficatus 的影响，主要是在超微结构水平上负责收集不同物质的两个器官，脂肪体和唾液腺。分析了镉短期和长期中毒引起的变化，与细胞死亡（自噬、细胞凋亡、坏死）有关，以及它们之间的串扰。L. forficatus 的成年标本在自然环境中收集并分为三个实验组：C（对照组）、Cd1（在含 80 mg/kg CdCl ₂的土壤中培养 12 天）和 Cd2（在含CdCl ₂的土壤中培养） 80 mg/kg CdCl ₂45 天）。透射电子显微镜显示所分析的两个器官的超微结构改变（储备材料量减少、液泡出现等）。使用 TUNEL 测定的定性分析揭示了脂肪体脂肪细胞中自噬和坏死之间的明显串扰，而在此处检查的蜈蚣的唾液腺中检测到唾液腺中的自噬、凋亡和坏死之间的串扰。我们得出的结论是，身体的不同器官对相同的压力源以及相同的浓度和暴露时间会产生不同的反应。超微结构水平的不同机制激活不同类型的细胞死亡和不同的动力学。