title: Acute mercury exposition of virgin, pregnant, and lactating rats: Histopathological kidney and liver evaluations.
abstract: This work investigated the effects of mercury chloride (HgCl2) acute exposure on virgin, pregnant and lactating rats by determination of renal and hepatic morphological and ultrastructural parameters and the expression of oxidative stress and stress tolerance markers, due to kidney and liver are the organs that more accumulate inorganic mercury. Adult Wistar rats virgin (90 days old), pregnant (18thgestation day) and lactating (7thlactation day) were injected once with HgCl2(5 mg/kg) or saline (controls). We observed that HgCl2exposure of virgin rats caused significant inflammatory infiltration and severe morphological variations, like glomeruli atrophy, dilatation of Bowman's capsule, tubular degeneration and hepatocytes alteration. Moreover, virgin rats presented mitochondrial modification, important oxidative stress and increase in stress tolerance proteins at both kidney and liver level, compared with virgin controls. In detail, virgin rats exposed to HgCl2presented significantly elevated level of inducible nitric oxide synthase, heat shock protein 27 and glucose regulated proteins 75 expressions at both renal tubular and hepatocytes level, respect untreated virgin rats. Interestingly, pregnant and lactating rats exposed to HgCl2presented weak renal and liver morphological alterations, showing weak inflammatory infiltration and no significant difference in structural mitochondrial transmembrane protein, oxidative stress markers and stress tolerance proteins expressions respect controls (virgin, pregnant and lactating rats). Although, both control and HgCl2-exposed pregnant and lactating rats showed renal glomeruli greater in diameter respect virgin rats. In conclusion, we believe that virgin rats are more sensitive to HgCl2toxicity respect pregnant and lactating rats. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 32: 1500-1512, 2017.
authors.affiliation: Anatomy and Physiopathology Division, Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Viale Europa 11, Brescia, 25123, Italy.|Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Vitor Antunes
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Anatomy and Physiopathology Division, Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Viale Europa 11, Brescia, 25123, Italy.
authors.forename: Gaia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Favero
authors.affiliation: Anatomy and Physiopathology Division, Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Viale Europa 11, Brescia, 25123, Italy.|Interdipartimental University Center of Research "Adaption and Regeneration of Tissues and Organs- (ARTO)", University of Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stacchiotti
authors.affiliation: Anatomy and Physiopathology Division, Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Viale Europa 11, Brescia, 25123, Italy.
authors.forename: Lorena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Giugno
authors.affiliation: Anatomy and Physiopathology Division, Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Viale Europa 11, Brescia, 25123, Italy.|Interdipartimental University Center of Research "Adaption and Regeneration of Tissues and Organs- (ARTO)", University of Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Buffoli
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Claudia Sirlene
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: de Oliveira
authors.affiliation: OIE Reference Laboratory for RHD, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e Emilia Romagna, Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lavazza
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Albanese
authors.affiliation: Anatomy and Physiopathology Division, Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Viale Europa 11, Brescia, 25123, Italy.|Interdipartimental University Center of Research "Adaption and Regeneration of Tissues and Organs- (ARTO)", University of Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi Fabrizio
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Rodella
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria Ester
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.affiliation: Anatomy and Physiopathology Division, Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Viale Europa 11, Brescia, 25123, Italy.|Interdipartimental University Center of Research "Adaption and Regeneration of Tissues and Organs- (ARTO)", University of Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rezzani
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D007668:Kidney / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D007774:Lactation / Q000187:drug effects*; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D008627:Mercuric Chloride / Q000633:toxicity; D008628:Mercury / Q000633:toxicity*; D008630:Mercury Poisoning / Q000473:pathology; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D023382:Toxicity Tests, Acute
chemical_list: D008627:Mercuric Chloride; D008628:Mercury
keywords: kidney; lactating rats; liver; mercury; pregnant rats; virgin rats