Hemato-biochemical responses of rats co-exposed to heat stress and trichloroethylene vapors

Abstract

Aim — The present study was aimed to measure some hemato-biochemical parameters of male Sprague-Dawley rats co-exposed to different levels of heat stress and Trichloroethylene (TCE) exposure. Methods — All male rats were randomly divided into nine equal groups of 5 animals each. They were exposed to heat stress and TCE vapors in a subacute manner (8 hr/day for 10 days) according to experimental design. Blood samples were taken from the heart of all animals at the end of the 10th day of exposure. Hematology and biochemical parameters were determined using the automated hematology analyzer and an automated biochemistry, respectively. Results — The values of WBC, RBC and HB significantly decreased after co-exposure 250 ppm TCE and extreme heat stress; although, this exposure condition lead to statistically significant increase in mean levels of MCV, RDW, ALP, CPK and LDH. Our findings indicated that there were the subtractive and independent interactions for the hematological parameters and the additive, subtractive and independent interactions for biochemical parameters based on the exposure level to trichloroethylene and heat stress. Conclusion — Heat stress may increase sensitivity of workers to trichloroethylene and the simultaneous effects of exposure provide the circumstances for the occurrence of a variety of disorders.