Potential toxicity and mechanistic insights into organ-specific damage induced by iron oxide nanoparticles in Oryctolagus cuniculus
Muhammad Shahid Khan1, Tariq Hussain2, Saeed Ahmad Buzdar3, Muhammad Raza Hameed4, Muhammad Taslim Ghori5, Aliza Maheen6, Nadeem Ali7, Beenish Imtiaz8, Muhammad Rafi Qamar5, Ahmed Saleh Summan9, Arooj Ali3*, Rashid Iqbal10, Riaz Hussain11*
1Department of Physics, University of Okara, Pakistan
2Department of Basic Sciences, College of Veterinary and Animal Science, Jhang, Pakistan
3Institute of Physics, Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, The Islamia University, Bahawalpur 63100, Pakistan 4Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan Pakistan 5Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, 63100, Pakistan
6Department of Zoology, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, 63100, Pakistan
7Centre of Excellence in Environmental Studies, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
8Department of Animal Nutrition and Nutritional Disease, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ataturk University, Erzurum, Türkiye
9Faculty of Environmental Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
10Department of Life Sciences, Western Caspian University, Baku, Azerbaijan
11Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, 63100, Pakistan
Received: 28 September 2024 / Accepted: 22 January 2025 / Published Online: 06 March 2025
Abstract
Vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to characterize iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) synthesized via co-precipitation. TEM showed that the synthesized NPs had an average size of 13.8 nm and exhibited a saturation magnetization of 50.26 emu/gm, while XRD confirmed their crystallinity. This study assessed the toxicological impacts of IONPs on hematology, serum biochemistry, genotoxicity, and the histoarchitecture ailments in different visceral organs (liver, kidneys, spleen, brain, and heart of rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). A total of 16 healthy adult rabbits without infections were randomly assigned to two groups (A and B). Group A was the control whereas group B received 0.5 mg/kg bw of IONP dose once for 10 days via marginal ear vein. Visceral tissues and blood were obtained from each rabbit on days 5 and 10 of trial. The results showed a significant reduction in antioxidant enzymes and an increase in oxidative stress. The hematological profile indicated lower values of red blood cell counts, hematocrit, lymphocyte, and monocyte while significantly higher values of total white blood cell counts and neutrophil (%) in IONPs-treated rabbits. Serum biomarkers of the liver, kidneys, and heart exhibited escalated concentrations in IONPs-treated rabbits. Histopathological examination revealed notable tissue alterations like necrosis of hepatocyte, congestion, and bile duct hyperplasia in the liver, neuronal degeneration, necrosis, and microgliosis in the brain, tubular degeneration, necrosis, and congestion in the kidneys and disorganization of cardiac myofibers and edema in cardiac tissue. A significantly increased DNA damage was assessed in multiple visceral organs of treated rabbits. In conclusion, our findings demonstrate that exposure to IONPs induces toxic effects in multiple visceral organs including the kidneys, liver, spleen, heart, and brain in rabbits.
Keywords: Magnetic Oxide nanoparticles (MNPs), VSM, ROS production, Hemato-biochemistry, DNA Damage, Histopathology
