The precise cause of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis remains uncertain. Collagen induced arthritis (CIA) in animals is the most commonly used model of human rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Exposure of humans and animals to toxic metals is widespread. Cadmium is one of the most prevalent nephrotoxic heavy metal, but it may cause other systemic toxicity as well. Cadmium may cause adverse health effects by impairment of the immune systems and induction of reactive oxygen species. Since rheumatoid arthritis pathogenesis involve immune system disorder and chronic inflammation, the present study has been designed to find out the effect of cadmium chloride exposure on clinical manifestation of development of collagen induced rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis was induced in rats by intradermal injection of emulsion of type II collagen in Complete Freund's Adjuvant. Rats were treated with cadmium chloride dissolved in drinking water at concentrations of 5ppm and 50ppm for 21 days from day of immunization. The effects of cadmium in the rats were assessed by biochemical parameters (articular elastase, articular nitrite, lipid peroxidation, reduced glutathione, catalase and superoxide dismutase) histopathological analysis and immunohistochemical expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in rat joint tissue. Histopathological changes further confirmed the biochemical and immunohistochemical results. Our results suggest that exposure to cadmium chloride during the induction phase of collagen induced arthritis abrogate disease development at lower dose whereas exacerbates at higher dose in Wistar rats.
Keywords: CIA; Cadmium exposure; Pro-inflammatory cytokine; Rheumatoid arthritis; Wistar rats.
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