The intestinal absorption of cadmium increases during a common viral infection (coxsackie virus B3) in mice.

Murine intestinal absorption, tissue accumulation and redistribution of 109Cd during infection were studied using the common human virus Coxsackie virus B3 (CB3) adapted to the mouse. Female Balb/c mice were infected with CB3 and, on day 4 of the infection, dosed orally with 0.3 or 750 microgram Cd/kg body weight, with 109Cd as a tracer, in order to study intestinal absorption and tissue distribution of Cd during infection (Experiment 1). Other mice were dosed with 0.3 microgram Cd/kg body weight 3 days before being infected and, on day 4 of the infection, Cd redistribution was studied (Experiment 2). In both experiments non-infected control animals received the same treatment as infected animals. Results showed that the infected animals had a higher gastrointestinal absorption of Cd than noninfected animals when Cd was administered during infection. In the infected animals the absorption at the low Cd dosage was increased by 70% and was tripled at the high dosage. The increased absorption enhanced the accumulation of Cd in all organs studied. Moreover, the infection caused a Cd dose-dependent change in the organ distribution of Cd, when Cd was administered during the infection. However, no redistribution of previously accumulated Cd occurred during ongoing disease, indicating that Cd was not mobilised from body stores by the infection. These results show, for the first time, that an invading micro-organism can increase the intestinal absorption and concomitantly alter the tissue distribution of an environmental pollutant (Cd) if exposure occurs during the course of viral infection.