Review on Histological Effect of Lead on Liver and Kidney

Abstract

Our environment can be polluted by environmental toxins which are chemicals and other materials produced largely from industry and its products. There are large numbers of environmental toxicants which are potentially harmful to health. These large numbers of environmental toxicants can be divided into three major categories (heavy metals, air pollutants, and pesticides) and they are commonly studied environmental toxicants. Environmental toxins can be entered into the body by various mechanisms mainly by skin absorption or by inhalation via organs of respiratory tract. Toxins suspended in air make their way into the intestinal tract by drainage from the paranasal sinuses into the pharynx and esophagus. Once the environmental toxins are entered into the body by these mechanisms, they may be released into the lumen through the biliary system and cause to toxicity. Exposure to chemical toxins at critical periods of development may cause some permanent change in the histology and physiology of various organ systems in organisms. There are many heavy metals that cause environmental toxins. Lead, which exists in different forms, is one of these heavy metals that cause environmental toxins. Lead constitutes an integral source of poisoning to the ecosystem. It is toxic to almost all organs of the body and has significant suppressing effects on the nervous, renal, hepatic and hematopoietic systems. It also disturbs the balance between the release of free radicals and the antioxidant system in the cell. This imbalance between free radicals and the antioxidant system produces oxidative stress. Generation of oxidative stress due to imbalance between free radicals and the antioxidant system in the cell is the origin of lead toxicity in the body. There are macromolecules which are the main targets of reactive oxygen species (ROS). These reactive oxygen species ROS cause lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation and DNA alterations which causes the development of different diseases such as cancer, diabetes, renal, hepatic, neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases. Lead is a multiorgan toxicant implicated in various cancers, diseases of the hepatic, renal, and reproductive systems etc. It primarily affects the central nervous system, hematopoietic, hepatic and renal system, producing serious disorders. Continuous environmental and occupational lead exposure can cause several changes in the liver and kidney structures. The purpose of this review is to give a comprehensive report of the existing data on the potential adverse effects of lead on liver and kidney toxicity by histological study and biochemical assay of liver and kidney enzyme levels.

Keywords: Environmental toxins, lead, liver, kidney, reactive oxygen species

Cite this Article

Nigus Abrha Tafere. Review on Histological Effect of Lead on Liver and Kidney. Research & Reviews: A Journal of Toxicology. 2020; 10(1): 8–30p.