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Protective effects of metallothionein and vitamin E in the trunk kidney and blood of cadmium poisoned Ctenopharyngodon idellus

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Abstract

Cadmium (Cd), a substance with one of the most critical health hazard indices, can cause damage to both the blood and kidneys and accumulates in the body at last. The present work studied the toxicological effects of Cd and the therapeutic effects of metallothionein (MT) and vitamin E (VE) on the trunk kidney and blood of freshwater grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus). Grass carp were divided into three groups: Cd + phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) group, Cd + VE group, and the Cd + MT group. Fish were injected with CdCl2 on the first day and then VE, MT, or PBS was administered 4 days post-injection. Fish not injected with Cd were used as a negative control. The blood and trunk kidney amassed Cd and suffered severe damage in the forms of organ toxicity cytotoxicity, and immunotoxicity. However, the MT reduced the Cd content in the trunk kidney and blood and partially stabilized the damaged organs. Treatment with VE, however, only demonstrated weaker protection against on Cd-induced toxicity. The results indicate that exogenous MT may play an essential role in restoring homeostasis of the Cd-poisoned urinary and circulatory system and that it may help eliminate Cd in aquatic animals.

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Data availability statement

All relevant data are available from the authors on request.

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Acknowledgments

We thank all authors for stimulating discussions and support.

Funding

This research was supported by grants from the double support plan of Sichuan Agricultural University (03571775).

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Correspondence to Xiaoli Huang.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.

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All protocols were approved by the animal care and use committee of Sichuan agricultural university, following the guidelines on animal experiments which under permit No.DY-S20144657.

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Huang, X., Xiong, G., Feng, Y. et al. Protective effects of metallothionein and vitamin E in the trunk kidney and blood of cadmium poisoned Ctenopharyngodon idellus. Fish Physiol Biochem 46, 1053–1061 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-020-00771-2

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