Organ and subcellular distribution of selenium in rats exposed to cadmium, mercury, and selenium.

Three groups of rats were given sodium selenite (Se), sodium selenite and cadmium chloride (Se + Cd), or sodium selenite, cadmium chloride, and mercuric chloride (Se + Cd + Hg), respectively. All animals received subcutaneous doses of 115CdCl2 (0.3 mg Cd/kg) every other day for a fortnight. Mercuric chloride was administered intravenously at doses of 0.5 mg Hg/kg every other day and Na2 75SeO3 intragastrically at doses of 0.1 mg Se/kg every other day for 2 weeks. The whole-body retention of selenium was slightly elevated by cadmium and increased threefold by cadmium with mercury (mainly blood, liver, and kidneys). Cadmium did not affect subcellular levels of selenium in the kidneys and slightly increased the selenium content in the soluble fraction of the liver. On the other hand, combined administration of mercury and cadmium induced a significant elevation of the selenium content in all subcellular fraction of the kidneys and in the nuclear and mitochondrial fractions of the liver. In all animal groups selenium was bound in the soluble fractions of both the liver and kidneys by high-molecular-weight proteins.