N.D. Singh

Ochratoxin A and citrinin nephrotoxicity in New Zealand White rabbits: an ultrastructural assessment

In the present investigation, ochratoxin A (OTA) (0.75 mg/kg feed) and citrinin (CIT) (15 mg/kg feed) were fed alone and in combination to young growing New Zealand White rabbits for 60 days to evaluate renal ultrastructural alterations. The severity and intensity of renal ultrastructural changes varied with the type of the treatment, and predominant and consistent lesions were recorded in the proximal convoluted tubule (PCT) lining cells. The significant changes in mitochondria, the most affected cell organelle in all the treatment groups, included mitochondrial disintegration and distortion, pleomorphism, cluster formation and misshapen appearance such as signet ring, dumbbell, cup and U shapes. Intra-cisternal sequestrations of involuting mitochondria, and thickening of basal layer of PCT epithelial cells with partial detachment, were the characteristic features observed in OTA and combination treatments. CIT treatment revealed crenated nucleus, loss of nucleolus, depletion of cytoplasmic organelles, mitochondrial pleomorphism, nuclear fragmentation, uniform folding of cell membrane and cytoplasmic vacuolations in the PCTs. Focal thickening of the glomerular basement membrane and degeneration of endothelial cells were the prominent alterations in the glomeruli in OTA and combination treatments. Distal convoluted tubules were unaffected in CIT treatment, however, mild to moderate lesions were observed in OTA and combination treated rabbits. It may be concluded that on simultaneous exposure, CIT potentiated the toxic effects of OTA on renal ultrastructure.

Experimentally induced citrinin and endosulfan toxicity in pregnant Wistar rats: histopathological alterations in liver and kidneys of fetuses

In the present investigation, citrinin (CIT) (10 mg kg−1 feed) and endosulfan (1 mg kg−1 body weight) were administered orally alone and in combination to pregnant Wistar rats from gestational day 6 to 20 and their fetuses were collected to evaluate the histopathological alterations in hepatic and renal tissues. In CIT‐fed group fetal liver, the changes were less marked, showing only sinusoidal dilation and mild vacuolar degeneration, whereas the consistent changes in the fetal kidney included tubular degeneration, medullary tubular necrosis, cystic dilatation of tubules, distortion of glomerulur capillary tuft and interstitial fibroblastic proliferation which separated clusters of tubules. In the endosulfan group, the liver was predominantly affected, showing vacuolar degeneration, karyomegaly and severe sinusoidal dilation, whereas the renal changes were mainly confined to tubular degeneration and varying degree of interstitial fibrosis. In the combination group, the hepatic and renal histopathological alterations in the fetus, though of similar nature to those of the individual groups, were more severe. Copyright