Oxidative Damage Effect of Particulate Matter (PM_(2.5)) on the Livers, Spleens, Kidneys of Rats

Objective To investigate the effects of airborne fine particulate matter(PM2.5) on anti-oxidative enzymes activities and lipid peroxidation levels in livers, spleens, and kidneys of rats. Methods 32 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into PM2.5 exposure groups of different concentration (1.5, 7.5, 37.5 mg/kg), exposed by tracheoperfusion and control group treated with physiological saline. Rats were killed 24 h after treatment, and the levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS), glutathione(GSH) and activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), catalase (CAT) were determined. Results PM2.5 exposure caused significantly decrease of SOD, CAT, GSH-Px, SOD/TBARS in livers and kidneys in a dose-dependent manner compared with control group (P0.05, P0.01), and TBARS/GSH-Px significantly increased compared with the control (P0.01, P0.001). The contents of GSH in spleens and kidneys appeared a significant decrease comparing with control group (P0.05, P0.01), whereas in livers PM2.5 exposed at low concentration caused a significant increase and at higher concentration caused a significant decrease (P0.01, P0.05). The LPO levels in livers increased significantly in a dose-dependent manner (P0.05). However, the changes of LPO levels and antioxidative enzymes activities as well as TBARS/GSH-Px in spleens were significant compared with the control. Conclusion The results of the present paper demonstrate that PM2.5 may cause oxidative damage to livers and kidneys of rats.