Objective To observe the kidney damage induced by zirconium in mice.
Methods A total of 50 male Kunming mice were randomly divided into five groups by body weight, and each group contained 10 mice. The five groups of mice were exposed by intraperitoneal injection with 0.000, 0.855, 1.710, 3.420, 17.100 mg/kg of zirconyl chloride solution. The exposure lasted for 30 consecutive days with a single dose of 20 mL/kg per day. After the exposure was finished, the contents of serum creatinine (Scr) and urea nitrogen in serum as well as superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in the kidney sample homogenates were tested.
Results Compared with the control group, only the 17.100 mg/kg group's Scr showed statistically significant difference (P<0.05). The content of Scr increased with the zirconyl chloride dose increasing (r=0.609, P<0.001). In the groups of 1.710, 3.420, 17.100 mg/kg, the SOD and GSH-Px activities in kidney homogenates reduced, and the MDA content increased in the group of 17.100 mg/kg (all P<0.05). The content of MDA increased while the activities of SOD and GSH-Px reduced along with the exposure dose increasing (r=0.755, P<0.001; r=-0.570, P<0.001; r=-0.536, P=0.001). The observation of selected kidney tissue samples found mildly swelling renal tubular epithelial cells and in flammatory cells infiltration in the groups of 0.855, 1.710, and 3.420 mg/kg. Partially damaged and detachment of the renal tubular epithelial cells were observed in the group of 3.420 mg/kg. The renal tubules were narrow and most epithelial cells were damaged in the group of 17.100 mg/kg.
Conclusion The mice kidneys are slightly damaged by low doses of zirconyl chloride, and significant damages are found in high dose group (>17.100 mg/kg).
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