Histobiochemical Effects of Dust Microparticles of Asalouyeh Area (South of Iran) on the Liver and Renal Tissues in the Pregnant Female Rats

Due to industrial development and mechanization of societies, air pollution has devastatingly affected people"s lives which have become a very significant issue for researchers. Given that oil and gas production and surface facilities have made Assaluyeh to be one of the world"s most polluted areas, the aim of this study was to investigate the toxic effects of air micro-dust in Assaluyeh on histological changes in the liver, kidney and liver enzymes.
Twenty-one adult female rats were divided in to 3 groups of control, negative control (exposed to micro-dust of a clean area free of oil contaminants) and treatment (exposed to the micro-dust contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons in Assaluyeh). All animals had synchronized reproductive cycles. After 21 days of treatment, histological changes in liver and kidney, as well as serum levels of hepatic enzymes of alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were examined and measured. The serum levels of heavy metals of lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury were measured using atomic absorption.
The levels of heavy metals of lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury in animals in the treatment group were significantly increased compared to the negative control group and the control group (P≤0.05). Serum levels of liver enzymes in the treatment group were not significantly different from the control group. No cell death was observed in the tissue sections. Cell irregularities were observed in the tissue sections of the treatment groups.
Micro-dust of Assaluyeh air did not show high toxicity on liver and kidney tissues.