Abstract
Thimerosal is an organomercurial compound, which is used in the preparation of intramuscular immunoglobulin, antivenoms, tattoo inks, skin test antigens, nasal products, ophthalmic drops, and vaccines as a preservative. In most of animal species and humans, the kidney is one of the main sites for mercurial compounds deposition and target organs for toxicity. So, the current research was intended to assess the thimerosal induced nephrotoxicity in male rats. Twenty-four adult male albino rats were categorized into four groups. The first group was a control group. Rats of Group-II, Group-III, and Group-IV were administered with 0.5µg/kg, 10µg/kg, and 50µg/kg of thimerosal once a day, respectively. Thimerosal administration significantly decreased the activities of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione (GSH), and protein content while increased the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) levels dose-dependently. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, urobilinogen, urinary proteins, kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1), and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) levels were substantially increased. In contrast, urinary albumin and creatinine clearance was reduced dose-dependently in thimerosal treated groups. The results demonstrated that thimerosal significantly increased the inflammation indicators including nuclear factor kappaB (NF-κB), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), Interleukin-1β (IL-1β), Interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) activities, DNA and histopathological damages dose-dependently. So, the present findings ascertained that thimerosal exerted nephrotoxicity in male albino rats.
Highlights
The bioaccumulation ability of heavy metals is an issue of major concern (Sharaf et al, 2020)
Effects of thimerosal on biochemical parameters In the present study, significant (p0.05) decrease in the activities of CAT, POD, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione reductase (GR), and GSH content was observed in thimerosal intoxicated groups in contrast to the control group (Figure 1)
II, III and IV significant (p
Summary
The bioaccumulation ability of heavy metals is an issue of major concern (Sharaf et al, 2020). Mercury (Hg) is a persistent bio-accumulative toxic heavy metal with unique physicochemical properties of public health concern since their natural and anthropogenic diffusions still induce high risk to human and environmental health (Bjørklund et al, 2017). Hg is present in thimerosal (49.6% by weight) and produces Et-Hg (ethylmercury) in the form of metabolite. This metabolite (EtHg) changes into inorganic Hg in the body, which accumulates in the brain and kidneys (Tan and Parkin, 2000). Initial risk estimations for et-Hg were established based on oral toxicity studies of me-Hg due to the deficiency of evidence about the thimerosal behavior in the mammalian body. The present study was designed and performed to evaluate the possible harmful effects of thimerosal on the rat kidney
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