Effects of maternal exposure to zinc and cadmium on metallothionein in fetal rat liver

Experiments were made to observe the effects of the maternal administration of cadmium and zinc and their influence on the metal-binding capacity of metallothionein in the rat fetus. Metallothionein was detected in the fetal liver as early as day 16 of gestation and may have appeared earlier. The zinc concentration in the metallothionein fraction was low on day 16 but increased as gestation progressed. The metal-binding capacity was fairly high on day 16 but increased at a slower rate than the zinc concentration. Following the intraperitoneal administration of zinc (100 moles Zn/kg) or cadmium (5 moles Cd/kg) once a day on days 14, 15 and 16 of gestation to the dam, the concentration of zinc in the metallothionein fraction of the maternal liver was far greater than that in the fetal liver. In contrast, cadmium was found only in the metallothionein fraction of the maternal liver; it was not found in the fetal liver, which suggests an effective placental barrier to cadmium. The metalbinding capacity in the fetal liver was induced by the maternal administration of zinc, but not cadmium.