title: Morphological characterization of renal cell lines (BGM and VERO) exposed to low doses of lead nitrate.
abstract: The response to lead nitrate has been assessed in two cell lines of renal origin. The range of toxic concentrations was determined by Neutral Red assay after 24-h of exposure. Morphological changes in the Buffalo Green Monkey (BGM) and VERO cell lines after exposure to subcytotoxic doses (1.38 mM and 1.04 mM, respectively) equivalent to EC10 (effective concentrations 10%) of lead nitrate were evaluated at the ultrastructural level by transmission microscopy. The most notable finding in treated cells was the presence of inclusion bodies in the form of irregular granules of varying size in both cytoplasm and lysosomes. Cell membrane integrity was not affected. The number of phagolysosomes and myeline figures associated to the inclusion bodies was higher than in the control cultures. We conclude that the phagolysosomic mechanism fails to digest this metal ion and the BGM and VERO renal cell lines can be considered as useful tools for toxicological studies involving lead nitrate.
authors.affiliation: Toxicology Area, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Murcia, Espinardo Campus, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Romero
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gómez-Zapata
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Luna
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: García-Fernández
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D004396:Coloring Agents; D003470:Culture Media / Q000737:chemistry; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D002479:Inclusion Bodies / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D007668:Kidney / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D007854:Lead / Q000633:toxicity*; D009499:Neutral Red; D009566:Nitrates / Q000633:toxicity*; D018675:Toxicity Tests; D014709:Vero Cells
chemical_list: D004396:Coloring Agents; D003470:Culture Media; D009566:Nitrates; D009499:Neutral Red; D007854:Lead; C017461:lead nitrate