Cadmium and zinc relationships.

Cadmium and zinc concentrations in kidney and liver have been measured under different exposure situations in different species including man. The results show that zinc increases almost equimolarly with cadmium in kidney after long-term low-level exposure to cadmium, e.g., in man, horse, pig, and lamb. In contrast, the increase of zinc follows that of cadmium to only a limited extent, e.g., in guinea pig, rabbit, rat, mouse, and chicks. In liver, the cadmium--zinc relationship seems to be reversed in such a way that zinc increases with cadmium more markedly in laboratory animals than in higher mammals. These differences between cadmium and zinc relationships in humans and large farm animals and those in commonly used laboratory animals must be considered carefully before experimental data on cadmium and zinc relationships in laboratory animals can be extrapolated to humans.