The Effects of High Fat Diet on Kidney and Lung Histopathology in Experimental Rats

Abstract

High fat diet and obesity have been considered as a main risk factor for various diseases such heart disease, chronic kidney disease and respiratory diseases. However, the precise effect of high fat diet on lung and kidney histopathology is limited. The present study examined the effects of high fat diet on rat histopathology. Female albino Wistar rats of four-week-old were fed either a basic diet or a high-fat diet (20% of fat). After one month of feeding, the histopathological analysis of kidney and lung was investigated. The kidney tissue of rats fed with high-fat diet presented several alterations including variable size of glomeruli, bleeding and congested blood vessels and deformations of several tubular structures compared with those that fed a basic diet. While the lung parenchyma of rats fed with high fat diet showed collapsed alveoli separated by thick inter-alveolar septa, infiltration of inflammatory cells and congested blood vessels were also observed. In conclusion, the high fat diet is responsible for detectable changes in kidney and lung in female rat and this type of diet may lead to renal and respiratory deformities as a result of its histopathological effects.