[Dynamics of morphological and cytochemical changes in the placenta following cadmium chloride intoxication]

The experiments carried out for the study aimed at determining the prenatal sensitivity to cadmium in the aspect of beth morphological and functional condition of placenta. The experiments were carried out on 80 pregnant female rats divided into three experimental groups and a control one. The experimental animals were daily administered, intragastrically, aqueous solution of cadmium chloride, from the 7th to the 19th day of pregnancy, in doses differing between the experimental groups: 2, 10 and 22 mg of CdCl2 per kilogram of body weight, respectively. The animals were decapitated on the 21st day of pregnancy. Placenta sections, besides hematoxylin and eosin staining, were examined for the activity of the following enzymes: succinic dehydrogenase (SDH) E.C.1.3.99.1., lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) E.C.1.1.1.27., NADH-tetrazole reductase (NADH-t.r.), without a catalog number, and their glycogen reaction was checked. The results of the experiments proved cadmium chloride to cause considerable damage to the enzymatic apparatus of placenta, leading to energy deficit in the cells of both the fetal and the maternal part of this organ. The multienzymatic changes observed preceded the morphologic ones by far.