Background and Aims: Cadmium is an important environmental pollutant and a potent toxicant to organisms. However, the toxicity of Cadmium and its influences on stomach is still unclear. We examined the effects of intraperitoneal injection of Cadmium on mRNA expression of Bcl-2 and Bax genes in rat stomach.
Materials and Methods: Twenty eight male Wistar rats weighing 200 to 250 g were randomly divided into 4 groups. The control group received saline and the three other groups received Cadmium at doses of 1, 2 and 4 mg/kg for 15 successive days. One day after the last injection, the stomach was dissected and removed and then the expression of Bax and Bcl-2 genes was evaluated using real time polymerase chain reaction.
Results: Cadmium exposure did not change on mRNA level of Bax at the doses of 1, 2 and 4 mg/kg in rat stomach cells. However, the mRNA level of Bcl-2 gene decreased at doses of 1, 2 and 4 mg/kg (body weight) by 0.07, 0.03 and 0.01 times compared with the control cells (p<0.001).The ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 increased significantly at the doses of 2 and 4 mg/kg (p< 0.05) compared to the control group.
Conclusions: This increased Bax/Bcl-2 mRNA ratio induces cell apoptosisin rat stomach cells.