Changes in antioxidant lung protection after single intra-tracheal cadmium acetate instillation in rats.

One-hundred male white rats were given a single intratracheal dose of 0, 5 mg kg-1 cadmium acetate. There was a fall in catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in lung homogenate throughout the 30 d after treatment. Non-protein sulphhydryl (NPSH) content, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD) and glutathione peroxidase (GP) were all increased from days 5 to 15. There was an increase in lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and protein in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and in the relative weight of the lungs which provide evidence of severe toxic lesions of the lungs. Increased lipid peroxidation provoked by the reduced lung antioxidant protective capacity may be an important mechanism in the pulmonary damage caused by cadmium.