Changes of porcine growth hormone and pituitary nitrogen monoxide production as a response to cadmium toxicity.

The present study was designed to investigate the effects of various cadmium concentrations on porcine growth hormone (GH) secretion in serum and cultured pituitary cells and to explore the possible mechanisms of cadmium toxicity. In feeding trial, 192 barrows (Duroc x Landrace x Yorkshire), with similar initial body weights, were randomly divided into four different treatment groups with three replicates for each treatment. The diets were supplemented for 83 days with 0, 0.