Co-exposure to multiple heavy metals and metalloid induces dose dependent modulation in antioxidative, inflammatory, DNA damage and apoptic pathways progressing to renal dysfunction in mice

Abstract

Humans are exposed to a cocktail of heavy metal toxicants at the same time in the environment rather than single metal. The kidney is often a site of early damage due to high renal contact to these pollutants. This study was done to examine the cumulative toxic effect of multiple elements prevalent in the environment. To explore the effect of subchronic exposure to heavy metal mixture male and female Swiss albino mice were randomly divided into 14 groups and given varying doses [MPL (maximum permissible limit), 1X, 5X, 10X, 50X, or 100X] of the multiple metals and metalloid mixtures via drinking water for 8 weeks. It was determined that metal treatment caused increased metal load in renal tissue. The kidney function deteriorated in response to 10X, 50X, 100X concentration of the dosing mixture was found associated to oxidative stress, glomerular damage, necrosis, cell death and further exacerbation of the inflammation.