| This study aimed to investigate the effect of different concentration of cadmium chloride on the reproduction performance of male mice. Four groups of male mice were injected with 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 mg of cadmium chloride per kg of body weight, respectively, while control group was injected with saline solution. 35 days after injection, male mice were mated with female mice in a ratio of 1:2.
The pregnancy rate, fallowing rate and the litter size of the mated female mice, the birth weight and the sex ratio of new born mice were analyzed. The results showed that injection with 2.0 mg of cadmium chloride per kg of body weight decreased the body weight and testis weight of the injected male mice, and also decreased the pregnancy rate, fallowing rate and the litter size of mated female mice. However,abnormal growth or development was not observed on born mice. This result suggested that cadmium inhibit the reproduction performance of male mice, but it does not affect the growth and development of born mice. |
