Amelioration of the teratogenicity of cadmium by the metallothionein induced by bismuth nitrate.

The participation of maternal hepatic metallothionein (MT) in the amelioration of cadmium teratogenicity in mice was examined. Pretreatment with bismuth nitrate (subcutaneously) ameliorated the teratogenicity, including exencephaly and abnormalities of the axial skeleton, caused by a single intraperitoneal injection of cadmium sulfate. Pretreatment with bismuth nitrate for 3 days induced MT drastically in maternal liver and kidney. Six and 24 hr after the injection of cadmium sulfate, the accumulation of maternal hepatic cadmium increased and that in the decidua, including embryos, decreased after pretreatment with bismuth nitrate. Mouse embryos on day 7 of gestation were cultured for 48 hr. Exposure to cadmium sulfate in vitro induced unfused brain fold, which corresponds to exencephaly in vivo. From the in vitro experiment, it was suggested that the teratogenicity of cadmium on day 7 of gestation is a direct action against the mouse embryo. In the present experiment it was suggested that pretreatment with bismuth nitrate induced maternal hepatic and renal MT; cadmium was therefore trapped and detoxicated, and consequently embryos were exposed to a lower concentration of cadmium.