Effects of Nickel chloride heavy metal on liver enzymes (ALT, AST, ALP) in Wistar Rats

Effects of Nickel chloride heavy metal on liver enzymes (ALT, AST, ALP) in Wistar Rats
Ghazaleh sadeghnezhad,¹ Seyed Mohammad Hosseini,^2,* Sohrab kazemi,³
2. Department of Pathology, Islamic Azad University, Babol Branch, Babol, Iran
3. Cellular and Molecular biology research center, health research institute, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran
Introduction: Epidemiological investigations have demonstrated that numerous teratogenicity, carcinogenicity, respiratory diseases, and allergies of nickel compounds are not limited to occupational exposure but also the exposure of the population through foodstuff, drinking water, tobacco products Pipe tobacco, and cigarettes. The major target organs of nickel toxicity include the liver, kidney, brain, lung, and testis. This study aimed to evaluate the toxicity of nickel chloride on the activity of liver enzymes.
Methods: In this experimental study, 32 female Wistar rats weighing 200-210 g were housed in cages with eight rats per cage. The Control group, received a daily intraperitoneal injection (IP) of NaCl 0.9%. Nickel was given to the other three groups by intraperitoneal injection alternatively by doses of 10, 15, and 25mg/kg, each thrice on days 8, 12, and 16 of the examination. On day 20, blood samples were taken under deep anesthesia, serum separated by centrifugation was used for various biochemical estimations.
Results: Intraperitoneal administration of nickel chloride caused abnormal liver function in rats. In NiCl₂ 25mg/kg treated group the activities of serum liver marker enzymes such as serum aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and alkaline phosphatase were significantly increased compared with the control group.
Conclusion: This study has shown that a high dose of NiCl2 administered by IP injection was able to induce hepatotoxicity. Furthermore, Serum results obviously indicate that the liver is susceptible to nickel induced toxicity
Keywords: Nickel, ALT, AST, ALP, liver, biochemistry, Wistar rat