Influence of cadmium chloride on the frequency of micronuclei in DA and AO rats

Abstract

Heavy metal cadmium (Cd), a well-known environmental hazard, exerts a number of toxic and genotoxic effects. Experimental animals, Albino Oxford (AO) and Dark August (DA) rat strains, were treated intraperitoneally with three different concentrations of cadmium chloride (CdCl2): 0.5, 1, and 2 mg CdCl2 per kg of body weight, while the control animals received equal volume of sterile phosphate buffered saline. In this investigation individuals of both sexes aged 3, 6 and 12 month were used. Frequency of micronuclei formation was evaluated in polychromatic erythrocytes (PCEs), 24h hours after treatment. The results showed that that cadmium-cloride (CdCl2) exibits the genotoxic effects causing an increase of the frequency of micronuclei depending on concentration, sex, age and strain.