Phosphaturia has been documented following cadmium (Cd) exposure in both humans and experimental animals. Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) serves as an essential phosphate homeostasis pathway in the bone-kidney axis. In the present study, we investigated the effects of Cd on phosphate (Pi) homeostasis in mice. Following Cd injection into C57BL/6J mice, plasma FGF23 concentration significantly increased. The urinary Pi excretion level was significantly higher in the Cd-injected C57BL/6J mice than in the control group. Plasma Pi concentration decreased only slightly in the Cd-injected mice compared with the control group. No changes were observed in the concentration of the plasma parathyroid hormone and 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D3 in both groups of mice. We observed a decrease in phosphate transport activity and also a decrease in the expression level of renal phosphate transporter Npt2c, but not that of Npt2a. Furthermore, we examined the effect of Cd on Npt2c in Npt2a-knockout (KO) mice, which expresses Npt2c as a major NaPi cotransporter. Injecting Cd to Npt2aKO mice induced a significant increase in plasma FGF23 concentration and urinary Pi excretion level. Furthermore, we observed decreases in phosphate transport activity and renal Npt2c expression level in the Cd-injected Npt2a KO mice. The present study suggests that hypophosphatemia induced by Cd may be closely associated with FGF23.
