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Hepatic and renal damage by alcohol and cigarette smoking in rats

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Abstract

Chronic use of alcohol and tobacco cigarettes is associated to millions of deaths per year, either by direct or indirect causes. However, few studies have explored the additional risks of the combined use of these drugs. Here we assessed the effect of the combined use of alcohol and cigarette smoke on liver or kidney morphology, and on biochemical parameters in chronically treated rats. Male Wistar rats were allocated to receive 2 g/kg alcohol orally, which was followed by the inhalation of smoke from six cigarettes during 2 h (ALTB group) for 28 days. Other groups received alcohol alone (AL) or were exposed to cigarette smoke (TB) alone and were compared to control (CT) rats, which received water followed by ambient air. On day 29, rats were euthanized and blood samples were collected for aminotransferase enzymes (AST and ALT), creatinine, and urea analysis. Liver and kidney were weighted, dissected, fixed, and stained with hematoxylin and eosin for morphological analysis. Our results showed that necrosis was elevated in the AL, TB, and mainly the ALTB group in both liver and kidney of rats. Serum levels of AST and ALT were reduced by cigarette smoke exposure, independently of alcohol use. Serum creatinine levels increased after tobacco smoke exposure. On the other hand, TB and AL groups decreased serum urea levels, and their association restored that decrease. Absolute liver and kidney weights were lower in the cigarette smoke exposure rats. Lastly, body weight gain was lower in TB group and combined use restored it. Thus, we may infer that the use of alcohol, exposure to tobacco cigarette smoke or, mainly, their association promotes liver and kidney injuries, and this damage is related with biochemical changes in rats.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), and the Pró-Reitoria de Pesquisa UFRGS.

Funding

This study was funded by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), and the Pró-Reitoria de Pesquisa UFRGS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de pós-graduação em Farmacologia e Terapêutica, Department of Pharmacology—ICBS, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Rua Sarmento Leite, 500/305, Porto Alegre, RS, 90050-170, Brazil

    Solange Bandiera, Rianne R. Pulcinelli, Rosane Gomez & Mauricio S. Nin

  2. Programa de Pós-graduação em Patologia, Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde (UFCSPA), Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Fernanda Huf & Marilda C. Fernandes

  3. Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre (UFCSPA), Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Felipe B. Almeida, Graziele Halmenschlager, Eliane Dallegrave & Mauricio S. Nin

  4. Departamento de Análises Clínicas e Toxicológica, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, Brazil

    Paula E. R. Bitencourt

  5. Centro Universitário Metodista - IPA, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Mauricio S. Nin

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  1. Solange Bandiera
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  2. Rianne R. Pulcinelli
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  9. Rosane Gomez
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Correspondence to Rosane Gomez.

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All applicable international, national, and institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee for Animal Use at UFRGS (CEUA-UFRGS # 25022). All efforts were made to minimize the number of animals used and their suffering.

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Bandiera, S., Pulcinelli, R.R., Huf, F. et al. Hepatic and renal damage by alcohol and cigarette smoking in rats. Toxicol Res. 37, 209–219 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43188-020-00057-y

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