In Vivo Induced Nephrotoxicity of Silver Nanoparticles in Rat after Oral Administration

摘要

Improvement in nanotechnology has identified promising silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) for many biomedicine applications. To assess the toxicity of silver nanoparticles in vivo, histopatological examinations of experimental mice were studied. Forty adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups and orally treated AgNPs in different doses (30,125,300,700 mg/kg) during the 28-days. After paraffin embedding and hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and periodic acid Schiff (PAS) staining, histopathological changes evaluated in kidney using light micrographs. The obtained results showed a decrease in diameter of convoluted tubules, glomerulus diameter, Bowman’s space thickness and number of mesangeal cells in 30 and 125 and 300 mg/kg treated groups. These changes are more evident in 125 mg/kg of AgNPs group (P<0.05). The other histological changes in the tubules of rats affected by AgNPs included loose of brush border, basement membrane irregularity, necrosis, vacuolar degeneration and Congestion. The other glomerular and interstital alterations of rats affected by AgNPs included: basement membrane thickness, accumulation of mesangial matrix, necrosis and infiltration of inflammatory cells. These histological alterations were also more evident in rats exposed to 125 mg/kg of AgNPs. In 700 mg/kg group, no major changes in the structural component of the kidney were observed while occasional foci of inflammatory cell infiltrates were present.