Interaction between cadmium and copper on ossification of embryonic chick bone in tissue culture.

To investigate the interaction between cadmium and copper in ossification, femurs from 9-day-old chick embryos were cultured for 6 days in the presence of 2 microM cadmium and/or 1 microM copper. It was found that cadmium + copper treatment caused interactively severe damage to osteogenic mesenchymal cells in the periosteum and a severe degenerative change in osteoblasts around the trabecula, resulting in severe impairment of ossification in the diaphysis. Cadmium content was increased by copper; however, copper content was unaffected by cadmium in the diaphysis. It was therefore considered that the copper-induced increase in cadmium content was a primary factor in the interactive toxic effect of the cadmium + copper treatment in ossification.