Protective effect of Vitamin D3 against lead induced hepatotoxicity, oxidative stress, immunosuppressive and calcium homeostasis disorders in rat

Publication date: Available online 23 August 2019Source: Environmental Toxicology and PharmacologyAuthor(s): Hussain Almasmoum, Bassem Refaat, Mazen M. Ghaith, Riyad A. Almaimani, Shakir Idris, Jawwad Ahmad, Abdelghany H. Abdelghany, Mohammad A. BaSalamah, Mohamed El-BoshyAbstractLead (Pb) is an extremely poisonous, non-essential trace element and toxicity develops in humans following frequent exposure to the heavy metal in polluted environmental and occupational settings. Pb induces hepatic damage through the depletion of the antioxidant system, enhancing cellular oxidative stress and stimulation of proinflammatory cytokines. Although the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions of vitamin D3 (VD3) are well-established, a minority of studies measured the protective actions of VD3 against Pb toxicity. Therefore, this work studied the effects of vitamin VD3 therapy on the fundamental molecular basis underlying hepatic injury induced by chronic Pb toxicity. Twenty-four adult male rats were distributed equally into the negative controls (NC), positive controls (PC) and VD3 groups. While both the PC and VD3 groups received Pb-acetate in drinking water (1000 mg/L) for four weeks, the latter group also received intramuscular VD3 injections (1000 IU/kg; 3 days/week) simultaneously with Pb. The liver enzymes together with the serum and hepatic tissue Pb concentrations increased markedly in the PC group compared with the NC group. Pb toxicity also drastically induced hepatocyte apo...
Source: Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology - Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research