Comparison of cadmium-metallothionein synthesis in parenchymal and non-parenchymal rat liver cells

Abstract

The time course of Cd-metallothionein synthesis was studied in nonparenchymal and parenchymal cells, isolated by a cell-separation technique from the livers of rats after the simultaneous injection of CdCl2 (0.05 mg Cd/kg) and a 10-fold molar excess of 2,3-dimercaptopropranolol. Under these conditions of dosing, in contrast with the injection of CdCl2 alone, both cell types accumulated similar concentrations of Cd and synthesized equivalent concentrations of metallothionein. Both cell types had a similar capacity to synthesize the metalloprotein, and the limiting factor under normal Cd exposure was the relatively inefficient metal uptake into the nonparenchymal cells.