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EARLY ACTIONS OF CADMIUM IN THE RAT AND DOMESTIC FOWL TESTIS

Summary.: Mature male rats and domestic fowl were injected subcutaneously with ¹⁰⁹CdCl₂; some rats were pre-treated 24 or 2 hr previously with Zn or Se, respectively. Testis, muscle and liver samples were taken at 5, 10, 20 or 40 min post-injection. Tissues were homogenized and centrifuged to obtain nuclear, heavy and light mitochondrial, microsomal, and the resultant 103,000 g supernate fractions. This supernate was partitioned by acetone which resulted in non-protein and protein-bound Cd fractions. In the liver nuclear fraction, there was only 10% of the total ¹⁰⁹Cd compared to 50 and 30% in the muscle and testis, respectively. These trends were reversed in the 103,000 g supernate. Pre-treatment with Zn or Se reduced the ¹⁰⁹Cd in this fraction in the testis and muscle. In these organs, there was more ¹⁰⁹Cd in the mitochondrial fractions of the domestic fowl than in the rat. Pre-treatments decreased ¹⁰⁹Cd in the testicular microsomes and in the protein of the 103,000 g supernate. After 5 min, there was essentially no free element in the testis of the domestic fowl. If subcellular location is indicative, the domestic fowl and the Zn and Se pre-treated rats appear to have very different mechanisms of defence against Cd.