Morpho-pathological and physiological changes of the brain and liver after ozone exposure

Vol. 51 No. 4, 2010

ROMANIAN JOURNAL of MORPHOLOGY and EMBRYOLOGY

Denisa-Ioana Cretu, Alina Sovrea, R. M. Ignat, Adriana Filip, Cristina Bidian, Aurica Cretu

This paper presents the consequences of long exposure to ozone in order to draw attention to this matter as far as the brain and liver are concerned. The material used was represented by two batches of 10 rats each that were daily exposed to ozone for 10 minutes at 0.5 ppm O3. From the first group blood was collected after two weeks to determine the indicators of oxidative stress and samples of brain and liver were drawn for histological studies. Tissue changes were highlighted using Hematoxylin-Eosin and argentic impregnation. In addition, the brain and liver samples taken from study subjects were turned into homogeneous preparations in order to determine the intensity of oxidative stress occurred in these organs compared with the witness group. The second batch was exposed for a further two weeks, after which the same sampling techniques and determining methods as for the first group were applied. The results show a correlation between the values of malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH), obtained both in blood and in the homogeneous preparations, and the microscopic changes that implicate a pathological state. Therefore, cerebral edema was discovered in the brain hemispheres and the cerebellum indicating necrotic signs accompanied by a reduction in the molecular layer and Purkinje cells with pale core. The liver presented hepatocellular necrosis, extended from the port area to the centrolobular vein.

Corresponding author: Denisa-Ioana Cretu, MD, PhD, e-mail: denysa_crt@yahoo.com

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