Effects of cadmium on calcium homeostasis in the splenic lymphocytes of chickens cultured in vitro
镉对体外培养鸡脾淋巴细胞钙稳态的影响

In order to investigate the role of calcium homeostasis in Cd-induced immune suppression of poultry,splenic lymphocytes isolated from chicken were exposed to 10 mol·L-1 CdCl2 and collected after 12 h,24 h,36 h,48 h and 72 h.The Ca2+]i,CaMmRNA levels,and the activity of the calcium pump were detected by the fluorescent dye Fura-2/AM,semi-quantitative RT-PCR and chromatometry.The results showed that as cadmium exposure time increased,the Ca2+]i gradually increased,and the CaMmRNA levels and the activity of the calcium pump gradually decreased.There were significant differences(p<0.05 or p<0.01) between the treatment groups and the control group.The results indicate that cadmium immunotoxicity arises by causing an imbalance of calcium homeostasis in lymphocytes.