Prolonged exposure to the herbicide atrazine promotes kidney fibrosis by activating Wnt/β-catenin signaling in rats.

Abstract

Exposure to atrazine(ATR),awidely-usedherbicide,is a potential harmful to human health due to its long-term environmental persistence and bioaccumulation. The effects of chronic exposure to ATR on renal function in rats were evaluated in this research. Female Sprague-Dawley rats at 4 weeks of age were treated with different concentrations of ATR for 6months. No significant differences intermsofrenalfunctions were observed afterATRtreatment. In histopathological examination of the kidney, Hematoxylin-Eosin staining indicated the development of degenerative changes in a dose-dependent manner. The results revealed that ATR exposure leads to renal fibrosis and that activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway plays a potential role in ATR-related renal fibrosis. Levelsof transforming growth factor (TGF)-β and TGF-β1 levels andthereactiveoxygenspecieswere significantly upregulated after ATR treatment. In conclusion, long-term exposure to ATR could cause kidney fibrosis, which is the result of epithelial-mesenchymal transition caused by inflammation and oxidative stress.