A Preliminary Study of Cadmium Effects on the Adrenal Gland of the Lizard Podarcis sicula

ABSTRACT

Cadmium (Cd) is a heavy metal that can act as endocrine disruptor. Cadmium has the property to accumulate in several organs after entering the body and it principally accumulates in the adrenal glands. Although the uptake mechanisms for the cellular accumulation of Cd are unknown, the most common hypothesis states that Cd uptake involves competition with essential elements such as Ca or Zn for specific transport systems. Cd induces several effects such as cell death, carcinogenesis and disruption of neurotransmitter and hormone action. Particularly, cadmium is able to alter adrenocortical function inducing an impaired capacity to secrete cortisol by steroidogenic cells of the adrenocortical tissues and stimulating catecholamine secretion. In the present paper, we investigated the effects of cadmium exposure on the adrenal gland morphology of the lizard Podarcis sicula. For this purpose, we performed two different treatments in order to investigate cadmium effects after both acute and chronic treatments. We have demonstrated that cadmium has toxic effects on the lizard Podarcis sicula. Specifically, cadmium induces, in a time-dependent manner, steroidogenic cord hyperplasia, disorganization of steroidogenic parenchyma until necrotic degeneration that in turn evokes macrophage infiltration.

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