Experimental confirmation in rats of the mixed type proteinuria observed in workers exposed to cadmium.

Recently we have reported that the proteinuria developed by workers exposed to cadmium was characterized by an increased excretion of high and low molecular weight proteins. These observations were confirmed experimentally. Female rats which were injected intraperitoneally with CdCl2 (1 mg Cd2+/kg) 5 times a week developed after 2 months of treatment a proteinuria qualitatively similar to that observed in workers exposed to cadmium. The analysis of this proteinuria by electrophoresis and gel filtration revealed an increased excretion of low and high molecular weight proteins. This animal study, which confirms previous observations on man, strengthens our hypothesis that the cadmium-induced proteinuria, classically considered as a tubular type proteinuria, is in fact a mixed type proteinuria, involving not only the tubule but also the glomerulus.