Long-term effects of perinatal exposure to low doses of cadmium on the prostate of adult male rats.

Developmental toxicity caused by environmental exposure to heavy metals during the perinatal period has raised questions about offspring health. Cadmium (Cd) is an endocrine-disrupting chemical with the potential to interfere with morphogenesis and susceptibility to diseases in reproductive organs. Taking into account that in the rat prostate morphogenesis occurs during the perinatal period, and that pregnant females absorb and retain more dietary Cd than their non-pregnant counterparts, it is important to understand the effects of perinatal Cd exposure on the adult rat prostate. Therefore this study investigated the effects of gestational and lactational Cd exposure on adult offspring rat prostate histopathology. Pregnant rats (n = 20) were divided into two groups: Control (treated with aqueous solution of sodium acetate 10 mg/l) and treated (treated with aqueous solution of cadmium acetate 10 mg/l) administered in the drinking water. After weaning, male offspring from different litters (n = 10) received food and water 'ad libitum'. The animals were euthanized at postnatal day 90 (PND90), the ventral prostates (VPs) were removed, weighed and examined histopathologically. Blood was collected for the measurement of testosterone (T) levels. Immunohistochemistry for androgen receptor (AR) and Ki67, and a TUNEL assay were performed. There were no differences in T levels, cell proliferation and apoptosis indexes, or AR immunostaining between the experimental groups. Stromal inflammatory foci and multifocal inflammation increased significantly in the treated group. These changes were associated with inflammatory reactive epithelial atypia and stromal fibrillar rearrangement. In conclusion, VP was permanently affected by perinatal Cd exposition, with increased incidence of inflammatory disorders with ageing.

Caffeine reduces cadmium accumulation in the organism and enhances the levels of antioxidant protein expression in the epididymis.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of caffeine (20 mg/L) intake on cadmium (15 mg/L) accumulation in the rat blood, testes, epididymis and prostate as well as cadmium-induced changes to the antioxidant defense system of the epididymis. Caffeine reduced the cadmium concentration in all tissues analyzed. Meanwhile, cadmium reduced catalase activity and increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in the epididymis. Caffeine increased SOD activity, catalase and glutathione tissue expression and sustains the cadmium's effect on catalase and GSP-Px activity. No differences in the expression of metallothionein and lipid peroxidation were observed among the different treatments in the epididymis. In conclusion, low doses of cadmium alter the antioxidant enzymatic profile of the epididymis, but not induced oxidative lipid damage. Caffeine intake reduces overall cadmium accumulation in the organism and enhances the levels of antioxidant protein expression in the epididymis, thus exerting a protective effect against this metal.

Early changes induced by short-term low-dose cadmium exposure in rat ventral and dorsolateral prostates.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men. The etiology of PCa in humans is multifactorial and includes age, ethnicity, environmental factors, and other unknown causes. Epidemiological and experimental evidence has shown that cadmium is associated with PCa both in humans and rodents. This metal can act as an endocrine disruptor during prostate development, and it induces prostate lesions late in life. In this study, we investigated the effects of low-dose cadmium on rat prostate morphology during puberty. Two-month-old male Wistar rats were randomized into two experimental groups: cadmium-treated and control. The ventral and dorsolateral prostates were dissected, weighed, and immunohistochemically stained with specific antibodies against Ki-67 and the androgen receptor (AR). The concentration of cadmium was measured in the blood and prostate, and testosterone concentration was measured from the plasma. Our results show that cadmium concentration was increased in both the blood and the prostate of cadmium-treated rats, but there were no changes in the prostatic weight, epithelial cell height, or testosterone levels. However, AR immunostaining and epithelial cell proliferation (Ki-67 index) were increased in both prostates with an increase in apoptosis only in the dorsal lobe. Furthermore, atypical hyperplasic proliferative lesions were found in the dorsolateral lobe after cadmium exposure. Cadmium treatment reduced collagen fiber absolute volume in both prostates. Thus, low-doses of cadmium, even for a short period of time, can interfere with prostate epithelium-stroma homeostasis, and this disruption might be an important factor in the onset of prostate lesions late in life.