Author(s): Derik E. Haggard

Presentation: oral

Human exposure to the heavy metal cadmium is associated with the development of bone diseases, including osteoporosis. Our lab is interested in unraveling the cellular mechanisms by which cadmium alters bone matrix formation. We hypothesize that cadmium exposure disrupts osteoblast mineralization. Human Saos-2 osteoblastic cells induced to mineralize were exposed to 0.1-10 µM CdCl2 for 3-23 days. We measured changes in calcium and phosphate deposition in the extracellular matrix. Cells exposed to 10 µM CdCl2 for 3 days exhibited increased calcium deposition. However, after 23 days of exposure to 0.1-10 µM CdCl2, calcium deposition decreased compared to controls. Furthermore, we found that cadmium was incorporated into the extracellular matrix. Phosphate studies showed that exposure to 10 µM CdCl2 decreased phosphate deposition after 3 and 10 days. Ongoing studies are being conducted to examine the effect of cadmium on collagen secretion and the expression of genes important in the mineralization process. These results suggest cadmium exposure alters the bone mineralization process, which may ultimately reduce bone density and contribute to the pathogenesis of osteoporosis. Research funded by NIH INBRE P20RR016454 and NIH R15ES015866 grants.

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