Cadmium Research At AU-KBC

Cadmium is a soft bluish metal with the symbol Cd and atomic number 48 of the periodic table. It is one of the metallic components in the earth’s crust and oceans, and present everywhere in our environment. About three-quarters of all the cadmium used in batteries, predominantly in rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries. It is also used in bearing alloys and electroplating, paints, semiconductors, television and electronic industry and for photocopier drums. The increasing usage and the threat for environment pollution and health has been a major concern with its usage in toys manufacture. Cadmium poisoning is an occupational hazard associated with industrial processes. The primary route of exposure in industrial settings is inhalation, which may progress to chemical pneumonitis, pulmonary edema, cardiovascular abnormalities, cancer and death. Prior studies find that cadmium exposure is correlated to cancer, cardiovascular and coronary heart diseases. Cadmium research from our group suggest an association between cadmium and vascular diseases. We demonstrated that vascular endothelium is sensitive to cadmium. The results of our studies showed that Cd impairs endothelial functions by inhibiting endothelial nitric oxide synthase. The objective of our lab is to explore the mechanism of cadmium induced vascular dysfunctions.