Etiological role of cadmium in hypertension in an animal model.

Dahl hypertension-resistant (R) and hypertension-sensitive (S) lines of rats were used to determine whether cadmium plays an etiological role in hypertension. In Study I, weanling (3-week-old) R and S rats of both sexes were given a low-salt (0.4% NaCl) diet and were divided into two groups. Rats in the cadmium group were injected with cadmium (2 mg/kg body weight, ip), whereas the controls received identical volumes of saline. Three weeks after the first injection, no elevations of systolic blood pressure were detected. A second dose of cadmium (1 mg/kg) produced hypertension in S females but not in S males or in R rats of either sex. Also, female S cadmium rats manifested significant (p less than 0.01) mild to moderate renal vascular changes. The concentrations of cadmium in hepatic and renal tissues of S cadmium rats were significantly higher (p less than 0.001) than in R rats. In Study II, weanling (3-week-old) female S rats on a high-salt (4% NaCl) diet were given cadmium (2 mg/kg body weight, ip) at week 3 followed by second and third injections of cadmium (1 mg/kg) at weeks 6 and 23. S controls received the same volumes of saline. Cadmium enhanced the rate and the degree of salt-induced hypertension development. Pathological lesions of periarteritis nodosa in the mesenteric arteries and renal vascular lesions occurred to the same extent in the cadmium and control groups. These data indicate that differences in genetic background influence the development of cadmium-induced hypertension in weanling rats, and that cadmium exacerbates the severity of salt-induced hypertension.