Hepatotoxic Effects of Lead Acetate in Rats: Histopathological and Cytotoxic Studies

Abstract

Lead toxicity is probably the most common form of heavy metal intoxication. The present study was conducted to assess the histopathological and cytotoxic effects of lead exposure on rat liver. Adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided in 2 groups. The first was exposed to 2 g of lead acetate in distilled water during 35 days, while the second served as a control group and was given distilled water. The structural damage in the liver was investigated by histological study and supplemented by biochemical assay of liver enzyme levels. DNA fragmentation in somatic cells was determined using terminal desoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL) assay. The results obtained show increase in liver enzyme levels in treated rats compared to controls. The histological study showed that lead can induce several alterations such as hypertrophy of hepatocytes, portal space and central vein dilatation, vacuolation and lymphocytic infiltration. Tunel assay revealed significant DNA fragmentation in rats exposed to lead. This study showed that TUNEL assay can be used to determinate DNA fragmentation in somatic cells of rat liver. Moreover, we conclude that lead acetate may be considered as a strong hepatotoxic and g