Bioaccumulation of cadmium and its cytotoxic effect on Zebrafish brain

The contamination of water by metal compounds is a worldwide environmental problem. Heavy metals, such as cadmium (Cd), are released into the environment by industries. Cd is a highly toxic heavy metal. It can pass the blood-brain barrier and exert neurotoxic activity. In this work the effects of Cd on the brain of Danio rerio treated for 16 days with CdCl2 at dose of 1.0 mg/L were studied. Cadmium was detected in the brain of zebrafish at 2, 7 and 16 days of treatment by atomic absorption spectrometry and the tissue alterations were observed at light and electron microscope. We reveled that Cd accumulates in the brain in the time and it induces evident morphological alterations in treated animals compared to controls