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Cadmium (Cd) is a widespread toxic occupational and environmental pollutant, and its effect on lipid metabolism dysregulation has been observed. In this study, we utilized two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) and mass spectrometry (MS) technologies to explore changes in the blood plasma proteins of mice exposed to Cd. From the 2-DE, 8 protein spots were screened in response to Cd exposure, and the identities of these proteins were revealed by MALDI-TOF MS. Western blotting was applied to analyze the expression of the apolipoproteins in both plasma and liver, which were consistent with Cd-induced dyslipidemia of their composed lipid. Moreover, the Cd-induced apolipoprotein ApoE upregulation was due to inhibition of autopahgic flux in the Cd exposed mice. It was further observed from the mouse liver that Cd reduced the expression of the lipid uptake receptor low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), which might be responsible for the coordinated elevation in blood triglycerides and abnormal apolipoproteins. This study may provide a new insight into the mechanism of Cd-induced dyslipidemia and the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Human exposure to cadmium (Cd) could lead to alterations in lipid metabolism. However, the underlying mechanism is still unclear. In the present study, the data revealed that Cd exposure induced cholesterol redistribution both in vivo from mouse liver tissue into the serum, and in vitro from the HepG2 cells to the cultured medium, which were associated with modulating the expressions of cholesterol efflux proteins, including upregulating cholesterol exporter ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) and downregulating oxysterol-binding protein (OSBP). Further investigation in HepG2 cells revealed that Cd upregulated ABCA1 expression with increased stability by inhibiting lysosomal pathway, and downregulated OSBP expression by increasing ubiquitination. Cd-induced cholesterol redistribution was completely inhibited by knockdown of ABCA1 expression using siRNA, and was significantly reduced by overexpression of OSBP. Taken together, these results suggested that Cd induced cholesterol redistribution by upregulating ABCA1 and downregulating OSBP.

In this work, the synthesis of regular single crystalline lead iodide nanoplatelets are carried out based on the physical vapor phase deposition method. Different lead iodide nanoplatelets are obtained by tuning the location of the mica substrate along with the temperature of the tube furnace. The rules of size, thickness, density of the lead iodide nanoplatelets at varied deposition conditions are analyzed according to the crystal growth principles. It was claimed in literature that the photoluminescence of lead iodide could be obtained only at a low temperature (lower than 200 K). Here, at room temperature, we successfully obtained the photoluminescence spectra of the prepared lead iodide nanoplatelets, which possess two apparent peaks due to the biexcitons and the inelastic scattering of excitons, respectively. Our present study contributes to the development of nanoscaled high performance optoelectronic devices.

Cadmium (Cd), as an extremely toxic metal could accumulate in kidney and induce renal injury. Previous studies have proved that Cd impact on renal cell proliferation, autophagy and apoptosis, but the detoxification drugs and the functional mechanism are still in study. In this study, we used mouse renal tubular epithelial cells (mRTECs) to clarify Cd-induced toxicity and signaling pathways. Moreover, we proposed to elucidate the prevent effect of activation of Ca2+ sensing receptor (CaSR) by Calcimimetic (R-467) on Cd-induced cytotoxicity and underlying mechanisms. Cd induced intracellular Ca2+ elevation through phospholipase C-inositol 1, 4, 5-trisphosphate (PLC) followed stimulating p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) activation and suppressing extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation, which leaded to increase apoptotic cell death and inhibit cell proliferation. Cd induced p38 activation also contribute to autophagic flux inhibition that aggravated Cd induced apoptosis. R-467 reinstated Cd-induced elevation of intracellular Ca2+ and apoptosis, and it also increased cell proliferation and restored autophagic flux by switching p38 to ERK pathway. The identification of the activation of CaSR-mediated protective pathway in renal cells sheds light on a possible cellular protective mechanism against Cd-induced kidney injury.