Hepatic and renal ultrastructural changes in cockerels exposed to cadmium chloride and subsequent interaction with organophosphate insecticide.

Ultrastructural alterations of the liver and kidneys of cockerels exposed to 100 ppm of cadmium chloride (CdCl2) and subsequent interaction with an organophosphorus compound (methylobromofenvinphos) were studied. Four groups, each consisting of 25 birds, included 100 ppm of CdCl2 in drinking water for 4 weeks (Group A), 100 ppm of CdCl2 for 4 weeks followed by a single dose of 240 mg/kg of methylobromofenvinphos (IPO 63 compound) (Group B), single dose of 240 mg/kg of IPO 63 compound (Group C), and untreated control (Group D). Three birds from each group were sacrificed 24 hr post treatment with IPO 63 compound and tissue pieces were collected for electron microscopic study. Ultrastructural changes in hepatocytes included swollen mitochondria with cavitation, dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum, numerous lysosomal bodies, myelin figures, depletion of glycogen granules, and numerous vacuoles containing degenerated membranes in birds that interacted with CdCl2. In a few cells the nuclei were markedly damaged with dilation of envelope. Renal corpuscles of CdCl2 showed irregular foot processes and thickening of the glomerular basement membrane. The proximal tubular cells of CdCl2 birds showed marked ultrastructural alterations, including numerous lysosomal bodies, few fat droplets, membrane bound vacuoles studded with polyribosomes, swollen mitochondria with fragmented cristae surrounded by rough endoplasmic reticulum, vacuoles containing myelin figures, and damaged nuclei with dilated envelope. Minor ultrastructural alterations were observed in the liver and kidneys of birds treated with cadmium alone and of those treated only with IPO 63 compound. These observations suggest that treatment with CdCl2 and then subsequent interaction with IPO 63 compound causes hepatic and renal damage that appears to be additive.