Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) acrylamide gel electrophoretic studies were performed on low-molecular-weight (LMW) proteins in urine from rabbits given sub-cuteneous injections of cadmium chloride at a dose level of 0.5mgCd/kg over a period of 42 weeks to evaluate the procedure for screening early effects of cadmium : in the 1st week, a gradual increase in urine cadmium was found ; in the 3rd week, slight LMW proteinuria (proteins of MW 12, 000 and 25, 000); in the 6th week, slight protein-uria, (proteins mostly of MW 67, 000); in the llth-13th week, aminoaciduria, glycos-uria, proteinuria and LMW proteinuria (proteins of MW 12, 000 and 25, 000). As shown above, protein of MW 12, 000 (probably β
2-microglobulin) and 25, 000 (pro-bably retinol-binding protein) increased in urine a little earlier than protein of MW 67, 000 (probably albumin) in rabbits given cadmium. Therefore, urine LMW pro-teins were thought to be effective indices for screening early effects of cadmium.
Sixty-80% of proteins in urine from rabbits given cadmium were proteins of MW 67, 000, while only 10% were LMW proteins. This fact might suggest that cadmium affect tubules as well as glomerules.
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