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Cadmium is an oestrogen look-alike
The Scientist
14th July 2003
Environmental cadmium can mimic the effects of oestrogen in the reproductive organs
By Tudor Toma
Endocrine disrupters are environmental contaminants that can mimic the effects of oestrogen. In the wild, they are thought to contribute to disruption of the reproductive systems of animals and have been implicated in the high incidence of hormone-related cancers and diseases in Western populations. Cadmium has been shown to act as a steroidal oestrogen in breast cancer cells, forming a high-affinity complex with the hormone-binding domain of the oestrogen receptor, but its in vivo effects on reproductive organs have been unclear. In the July 13 Nature Medicine, Michael D. Johnson and colleagues at Georgetown University show that cadmium mimics the in vivo effects of oestrogen in the uterus and in mammary glands (Nature Medicine, DOI:10.1038/nm902, July 13, 2003).
Johnson et al. exposed ovariectomized female rats to cadmium. They observed an increase in uterine wet weight accompanied by proliferation of the endometrium with an induction of progesterone receptor (PgR) and complement component C3. In the mammary gland, cadmium promoted an increase in the formation of side branches and alveolar buds and the induction of casein, whey acidic protein, PgR, and C3. In addition, they showed that in utero exposure to cadmium caused female offspring to experience an earlier onset of puberty.
"The data presented in this study provide strong evidence that cadmium is a potent nonsteroidal oestrogen in vivo. The ability of environmentally relevant amounts of cadmium to mimic the effects of estradiol suggests that the metal may represent a new class of endocrine disrupters," conclude the authors.
Links for this article
J. Toppari, "Environmental endocrine disrupters and disorders of sexual differentiation," Seminars in Reproductive Medicine, 20:305-312, August 2002.
P. Garcia-Morales et al., "Effect of cadmium on estrogen receptor levels and estrogen-induced responses in human breast cancer cells," Journal of Biological Chemistry, 269:16896-16901, June 17, 1994.
M.D. Johnson et al., "Cadmium mimics the in vivo effects of estrogen in the uterus and mammary gland," Nature Medicine, DOI:10.1038/nm902, July 13, 2003.
http://www.nature.com/nm/
Georgetown University
http://www.georgetown.edu/
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