Modulatory Effect of Cadmium Exposure on Deltamethrin-Induced Oxidative Stress in Channa punctata Bloch

The modulatory effect of cadmium pretreatment (0.2 mg/kg b.w. i.p.) on deltamethrin-induced oxidative stress and alterations of antioxidants was studied in freshwater fish Channa punctata Bloch. Lipid peroxidation (LPO) was measured as one of the indicators of oxidative stress. Activities of glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, and glutathione-S-transferase were also studied in liver, kidney, and gills. Levels of reduced glutathione (GSH) were measured in various tissues. Fish pretreated with cadmium and subsequently exposed to deltamethrin showed significantly reduced LPO values when compared with deltamethrin-exposed fish. Conversely, in the kidney, a potentiation response was observed. Deltamethrin exposure in fish resulted in significant alteration in activities of glutathione-dependent antioxidant enzymes. In the cadmium preexposed fish, which were subsequently exposed to deltamethrin, antioxidant enzymes showed a tendency toward normalization over deltamethrin-only exposed fish in liver and gills. GSH also showed a similar pattern in liver and gills but in kidney it remained elevated. Cadmium alone had no significant effect on various parameters at the concentration used in this study. When metallothionein (MT) induction was studied, only liver showed an MT-like protein band in sodium dodecylsulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis. These results demonstrate a modulatory role of cadmium on the oxidative stress and other related parameters in liver and gills. These findings are important in the context of exposure to a mixture of pollutants in aquatic environment.