Abstract
This study was designed to investigate the effect of continuous treatment with the anti-thyroid drug, propylthiouracil (PTU), on renal and hepatic functions in rabbits as an experimental animal model. Animals were randomly divided into four different isolated groups (n = 10); Group I received normal saline. Group II, III, and IV were daily administrated with PTU in oral dosing of 50, 75, and 150 mg/kg, BWT, respectively, for three successive weeks. Serum T3 and T4 levels were measured in all groups. Increased serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen levels (P<0.05) were also associated. Moreover, liver enzymes levels, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and total serum cholesterol levels showed a significant increase in a dose and time decedent manner. Thyroid glands of PTU-treated rabbits showed variable sized-follicles lined by multiple layers of follicular cells, which displayed signs of hyperactivity as the average follicular cell height. The diameter of its width was significantly increased compared with that in the control group. Besides, follicles were filled with a variable quantity of low-dense vacuolated colloids. Kidneys of such animals showed tubulointerstitial nephritis, glomerular atrophy, and multiple focal areas of mononuclear cell reaction. While the observed hepatic lesions were in the form of severe congestion in central vein and hepatic artery, hepatocellular necrosis, and granulocytic lymphoid cellular responses around portal areas associated with peri-portal fibrosis. Such lesions were dependent on doses of PTU. This study referred to that continuous treatment with an antithyroid drug PTU induced a hypothyroid state that was associated with impaired renal and hepatic functions in rabbits.
Highlights
The thyroid gland plays a vital role in the tissue metabolism of different organs and systems (Deepika et al, 2015)
The present study aimed to investigate the possible correlations between the renal and hepatic functions in rabbits and the given drug (PTU), to assess the histomorphometrical changes in thyroid glands, and to record the pathological changes in thyroid glands, kidneys, and liver induced by the different doses of PTU treatment in rabbits
All samples were embedded in the paraffin wax to prepare paraffin blocks according to Bancroft and Stevens (1982) to prepare tissue slides and stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E)
Summary
The thyroid gland plays a vital role in the tissue metabolism of different organs and systems (Deepika et al, 2015). The thyroid hormones control the basal metabolic rate, and so any altered functions of the thyroid are reflected on many body organs. The thyroid dysfunctions could be one of the most critical disorders in the rabbit (Rodríguez-Castelán et al, 2015, 2017). The experimental studies on thyroid dysfunctions and the changes in body metabolic activities are based on the suppression of thyroid hormones' (tri-iodothyronine; T3 and tetraiodothyronine; T4) production (Silva et al, 2004). Failure of the thyroid to produce the requirement of thyroid hormones is known as hypothyroidism, and it may be mild, moderate, or severe (Bushra et al, 2016). Many drugs have been shown to alter thyroid functions in humans and animals and to affect more than one aspect of the thyroid hormones' physiology
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