Research Article

Unexpected Lack of Deleterious Effects of Uranium on Physiological Systems following a Chronic Oral Intake in Adult Rat

Table 5

Histological alterations in intestine, kidney, and liver from rats contaminated with uranium in drinking water for 9 months.

ParametersNoncontaminatedUranium (mg/L)
0.21040120

Intestine
 Villous epithelial injury 0 0 0 0 0
 Villous atrophy 0 0 0 0 0
 Crypt hyperplasia 0 0 0 0 0
 Crypt distension 0 0 0 0 0
 Goblet cell hyperplasia 0 0 0 0 0
 Inflammation 0 0 0 0 0
 Mucosal fibrosis 0 0 0 0 0
Kidney
 Mesangial proliferation/glomerulosclerosis 0 0 0 0 0
 Glomerular cystic dilation 0.08 0 0.1 0 0
 Tubular necrosis 0 0 0 0 0
 Tubular regeneration 0.67 0.5 0.8 0.75 0.4
 Tubular dilation 0.67 0.6 0.4 0.33 0.3
 Tubular inflammation 0.83 1 0.9 1 1
 Interstitial fibrosis 0.42 0.1 0.3 0.33 0
Liver
 Portal inflammation 1 1 1 1 1
 Intralobular inflammation 0.92 0.9 1 0.67 0.9
 Periportal necrosis 0 0 0 0 0
 Intralobular necrosis 0 0 0 0 0
 Cytoplasmic vacuolation 0.67 1.2 1.4 1.67*2.2*
 Fibrosis 0 0 0 0 0

Intestinal lesions scoring: group means (scores/3), with –8.
Renal lesions scoring: group means (scores/4), with -6.
Hepatic lesions scoring: group means (scores/4), with -6.
*P < 0.05 between groups (one-way ANOVA analysis).