Renal and hepatic changes in the offspring of rats that received biological insecticides during pregnancy and lactation

Abstract

Bacillus thuringiensis insecticides have been considered safe, being an alternative to the use of synthetic insecticides. However, studies have shown the effects of Bt Cry toxins on various organs, compromising their functions. The objective of this work was to test whether the administration of biological insecticides based on B. thuringiensis in pregnant rats will cause histopathological changes in the liver and kidneys, as well as in the levels of toxicity biomarkers, of their puppies in adulthood. Twenty rats, 90 days old, were used, divided into four groups: GC - Pregnant rats, GX - Pregnant rats that received XenTari®, GDi - Pregnant rats that received Dipel® and GDe - Pregnant rats that received deltamethrin. Insecticides were administered by gavage at a dosage of 1 mg/100 g/day (GX and GDi), and 2 mg/Kg/day (GDe) during pregnancy and lactation. In the animals of the groups whose matrices received the insecticides, there was a reduction in the levels of the biomarkers of toxicity alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), urea and creatinine, about the control group. The biological insecticides promoted histopathological changes in the liver, with the presence of portal vein, centrilobular and sinusoidal capillaries congestion, and in the kidney, presence of cortical congestion and reduction of the subcapsular space. Histochemical evaluation in the liver demonstrated a significant reduction in glycogen in the groups that received insecticides when compared to the control group, whereas for collagen fibers in both the liver and the kidneys, no differences were observed between the experimental groups. The morphometry of the liver revealed a significant reduction in the lobular parenchyma and an increase in the non-lobular parenchyma, and in the kidney, there was a reduction in the diameter and volume of the glomerulus and Bowman's capsule of the animals whose matrices received both biological and synthetic insecticides. Thus, it is concluded that the biological insecticides XenTari® and Dipel® in sublethal doses in pregnant rats promote changes in the liver and kidney of the offspring similar to the insecticide deltamethrin, which extend into adulthood.

Keywords: Biochemistry; Cry protein; Insecticides; Kidney; Liver; Offspring.