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| Author(s): |
Gabriela Rodrigues
Total Authors: 1
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| Document type: | Master's Dissertation |
| Press: | São Paulo. |
| Institution: | Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB/SDI) |
| Defense date: | 2010-04-29 |
| Examining board members: |
Joao Dias de Toledo Arruda Neto;
Silvia Regina Kleeb;
Maria Claudia Araripe Sucupira
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| Advisor: | Joao Dias de Toledo Arruda Neto |
| Abstract | |
Uranium (U) is a radioactive toxic element found in the environment, naturally present in water and food, with preference for accumulation in bone. In the latter, marrow is the target with the highest radiobiological risk. It was carried out a study with sixty Wistar rats, twenty two days old, starting at the post weaning period. From this total, thirty five animals fed with chow containing Uranyl Nitrate at a concentration of 50 ppm (parts per million) were selected as the treated group, while the remaining twenty five were the control group. Treated animals were divided into six groups with five animals each plus six control groups with three animals each. Five animals of the treated group and three of the control group were sacrificed at intervals of four days to observe histopathologic, hematologic, and bone mineral density (BMD) alterations, as well as to measure the uranium content in bone as function of time, using the Solid State Nuclear Track Detector technique. It was observed congestion, vacuolar degeneration, hepatocytes misalignment, fibrosis and necrosis in liver. These alterations were initiated in treated animals fed for three days with diets containing U and intensified in the animals treated for eleven days, suggesting the occurrence of an intertwining between radiobiological and toxicological effects. It was also observed vacuolar degeneration, hyaline cylinders, fibrosis and necrosis in the kidneys of the treated animals, all initiated after fourteen days of treatment, and these effects were attributed to the nephrotoxic character of the Uranyl Nitrate. It was found out that the BMD was not altered in the short range term of treatment, that is, treatments of twenty-one and twenty-eight days, but appreciably reduced in the long range term. There was substantial accumulation of uranium in bones and teeth, where it was measured concentrations of 1.139 ± 0.057 ppm and 0.705 ± 0.092 ppm, respectively. The uranium concentration in the bones of animals of the control group were low and approximately constant. (AU) | |