Among various types of cellular damage, ROS induction can lead
to apoptosis as well. In an in vitro study, rat hepatocytes were treated
with Cd for 12 or 24 h and rapid intracellular ROS induction was
observed at a very early stage, while an increase in apoptotic cell
death was seen at later stages. It was hypothesized that Cdinduced
ROS may have triggered apoptosis through induction of
mitochondrial membrane lipid peroxidation or by alterations in the
expression of mitochondrial anti-apoptotic proteins (Wang et al.,
2014). Similar results pointing to involvement of mitochondrialdependent
pathways in Cd-induced apoptosis were obtained in a
study on rat hepatocytes exposed to 1–10 μM Cd for different periods
of time (Pham et al., 2006). However, although Cd-induced ROS production
and resulting mitochondrial dysfunctions can mediate a
series of liver cell injuries, there must have been other mechanisms