A survey ofacute histopathological effects of silver nanoparticles on liver, kidney with blood cells during oral administration in male mice (Mus musculus)

Nowadays, with increasing use of silver nanoparticles in various products including consumption and medical appliances, it is necessary to consider toxicity of these nanoparticles for their safety issues. There are several routes for nanopraticles to enter the body. Some studies prove that the liver and kidney are two major organs for accumulation of nanoparticles. This study was designed to investigate the histopathological study of silver nanoparticles acute effects on liver, kidney with blood cells during oral administration in male mice (Mus musculus). A group of 45 male BALB/c mice (weighting 24.2±3.0 g) were randomly divided into three groups (two treatments and one control), each with 15 mice. Daily and at the same time, two silver nanoparticle groups were orally administered with 20 ppm and 50 ppm, but in control group, instead of silver nanopraticles, distilled water was used. Sampling was conducted on days 2, 7 and 14 of the experiment from the liver and kidney. With considering the blood cells, Hematoxilin and Eosing (H&E) staining protocol was used to pathological study of the specimens. The results showed that orally-administered silver nanoparticles can cause damage to hepatic and renal tissues. The liver injuries were vacuolated of cytoplasm, degeneration and cell necrosis accompanied with focal accumulation of swelling cells and congestion. Glomerulonephritis, tubular cell necrosis, presence of swelling cells with congestion were observed in the kidney. There were no significant differences between red blood cell counts, hemoglobin and hematocrit. However, white blood cell counts were significantly higher in treated groups with silver nanoparticles (50 ppm) compared with the control. This study suggests that liver and kidney are target organs for silver nanoparticles. Silver nanoparticles damage the mice’s liver and kidney, if eaten orally. The higher dose of silver nanoparticles (50 ppm) may cause severe injuries to hepatic and renal tissues. Furthermore, orally-administered silver nanoparticles lead to significant variation in white blood cell counts.