Gastrointestinal absorption of cadmium in mice during gestation and lactation I. Short-term exposure studies

A single dose of carrier-free 109CdCl 2 was administered by gavage to mice on a given day of gestation or lactation, and the amount of cadmium in the whole mouse (minus gastrointestinal tract) and in individual organs was determined 72 hr later. Following cadmium administration on Day 15 of gestation there was a threefold increase in cadmium concentration in the duodenum at 72 hr over that in the duodenum of nonpregnant controls. Following administration on Days 10 and 17 of lactation, cadmium absorption increased two- to threefold over that measured in nonpregnant controls. For the latter 2 days of administration during lactation, a 12-fold increase in duodenal retention of cadmium at 72 hr occurred, along with a three- to fourfold increase in renal retention; the percentage of whole body cadmium deposited in the kidneys increased twofold, from 19.3% in nonpregnant controls to 42.9% in mice administered cadmium on Day 17 of lactation. By administration Day 24 of lactation, experimental mice absorbed cadmium to the same extent as did nonpregnant controls, and duodenal and kidney retention of cadmium at 72 hr also returned to control levels. In contrast to the kidney, the amount of cadmium retained by the liver was not altered appreciably throughout gestation and lactation.