[The genotoxic effects of cadmium studied in vivo]

Genetic effects of cadmium were studied using nucleoid microelectrophoresis of separate cells and micronucleus test. It was shown that cadmium chloride (in the range 2 x 10(-5) - 2 x 10(-1) mg of Cd2+/ml) induced nucleoid relaxation in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) after one hour incubation in vitro. Single injection of cadmium chloride (1 mg of Cd2+/kg of body wt.) induced DNA damages in PBL, splenocytes and thymocytes. The dynamics of DNA damage and repair was distinct in different cells. The same dose induced an increase in the frequency of micronucleated bone marrow erythrocytes in mice. It is suggested that the mechanism of cadmium genotoxicity is due to the single strand breaks in DNA through the direct cadmium-DNA interactions as well as to the action of incision nucleases and/or DNA-glicosilases during DNA repair.