Metabolism of zinc and copper in the neonate: Effect of cadmium administration during late gestation in the rat on the zinc and copper metabolism of the newborn

Rats that have been treated with Cd (1.0 mg/kg body wt., i.v.) on the 18th day of gestation give birth to young, the livers of which are low in Zn, but not in Cu. With increasing age after birth the hepatic concentrations of total and thionein-bound Zn in these animals increase rapidly to maxima at about 7 days, approx. 6 days later than in the newborn of normal dams, whereas the liver Cu concentration reaches a higher maximum at an earlier age than in the control neonate. This rapid uptake of Cu into the liver of the newborn of the Cd-treated dam is not accompanied by a concomitant increase in the concentration of soluble thionein-bound Cu.Cadmium-treatment of the dam retards the weight gain of the liver and, at least during the first 6–8 days postpartum, the increase in body wt. of the newborn. When the hepatic concentrations of thionein-bound Zn is expressed relative to liver wt. instead of age, there is no significant difference between the newborn from normal and Cd-treated dams.The Zn concentrations in blood, brain, stomach, duodenum, pancreas, spleen, kidney and muscle of newborn rats either remain constant, or increase only slightly with age after birth and are not affected significantly by the administration of Cd to the dam in late gestation. This treatment, which probably increases the demand for Zn in the newborn, delays the deposition of Zn in bone and causes a reduction in the Zn concentration of the skin. The Cu concentrations in skin and bone, as well as in other organs of the newborn during the first 24 days postpartum, seem to be unaffected by Cd-treatment of the dam.It is suggested that hepatic Zn-thionein has an essential function in the Zn metabolism of the liver, but is unlikely to control the supply of Zn to other organs in the newborn rat.