Effects of exposure to heavy metal ions and gamma radiation on some biochemical parameters in mice

Abstract

The present study was carried out to evaluate the effects of Pb and Hg ions, as well as (gamma)-radiation on serum parameters in Swiss albino mice. For this purpose, we determined the concentrations of albumin (ALB), total bilirubin (TB), as well as the levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) enzymes which are, especially, markers of liver injury. The study was carried out on 80 male mice. The animals were randomly divided into 4 groups. The control group (group I) mice were treated with tap water, whereas mice in group II 20 ppm Pb and those in group III 20 ppm Hg was orally given, and mice in group IV were treated with 10 Gy gamma-radiation for consecutive 14 days. The blood samples were collected from the mice at the end of the 7(th) and 14(th) day to determine the effect of exposure time on serum parameters. The AST, ALT, ALP and GGT levels, and the ALB and TB concentrations were determined by using an autoanalyzer. Serum analysis results indicated that there was an alteration in enzyme levels and concentrations of ALB and TB depending on exposure time in all treated groups when compared to controls. The levels of AST, ALT, ALP and GGT significantly increased in serum of mice in all treatment groups at. the end of 7 days, but enzyme levels showed a decrease at the end of 14(th) day. Even so, this decrease was still higher when compared to that of control and 7(th) day. Moreover, enzyme levels were higher in mice exposed to gamma-radiation than in Hg and Pb-treated ones, and difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Besides, an increase in the concentration of TB and a decrease in the concentration of ALB were observed during exposure. All these findings were also supported by histopathology of liver and kidney tissues. These results indicated that AST, ALT, ALP, GGT, ALB and TB parameters are very sensitive and useful biomarkers for the evaluation of the harmful effects of various agents, such as heavy metal ions and gamma-radiation.