Background and aims Cadmium (Cd) is an environmental pollutant which is widely used in industry and is a constituent of tobacco smoke.There are in vitro studies showing the neurotoxicity of Cd at μM range on cell culture models like neurons and glial cells,and the Cd-mediated toxicity is thought to involve,at least in part,the induction of apoptosis.However,the mechanisms of Cd-induced apoptosis have not been well elucidated.Cd-induced apoptosis in vivo and in vitro was found to primarily involve the intrinsic mitochondrial-dependent pathway.