ACTA VETERINARIA ET ZOOTECHNICA SINICA ›› 2018, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (12): 2723-2732.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2018.12.022

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Effects of Different Calcium Levels on the Apoptosis Pathways of Renal Tissue Cells in Rats with Fluorosis

WANG Jin-ming*, XU Hui-miao, ZHANG Jie, GAO Yu-feng, ZHAO Yang-fei, LI Yan-yan   

  1. College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu 030801, China
  • Received:2018-02-27 Online:2018-12-23 Published:2018-12-23

Abstract:

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of different levels of calcium on the endoplasmic reticulum apoptosis pathway in fluoride-induced kidney tissue injury in rats. One hundred and twenty male SD rats were randomly divided into 5 groups:Control group (C) (conventional feed), High fluoride group (F) (conventional feed, containing 150 mg·kg-1 F-), High fluoride + Low calcium (L) (conventional feed containing 150 mg·kg-1 F-+0.5% CaCO3), High fluoride + Medium calcium group (M) (conventional feed containing 150 mg·kg-1 F-+1% CaCO3) and High fluoride + High calcium group (H) (conventional feed containing 150 mg·kg-1 F-+2% CaCO3). After eating and drinking freely for 120 days, renal tissue cells were collected for pathological examination. The expression of endoplasmic reticulum pathway related genes and proteins were detected by RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry and western blot, respectively. Results showed that:(1) Fluorosis caused glomerular swelling, widening of the renal balloon space, swelling of proximal tubule epithelial cells and vacuole degeneration in rats. Low and medium doses of calcium reduced fluoride-induced kidney toxicity, while the high-dose calcium group enhanced the injury. (2) Fluoride significantly increased the mRNA expression of Caspase-12, Caspase-3 and JNK, while the expression of IRE1, ASK1 and TRAF2 was significantly decreased, which are endoplasmic reticulum apoptosis pathway related genes. However, low and medium doses of calcium relieved the fluoride-induced adverse effects. (3) In addition, fluoride significantly decreased the protein expression of Bcl-2 and increased the protein levels of Caspase-12, JNK, Bax, Bax/Bcl-2. Supplementation of low and medium doses of calcium alleviated the over-expression of endoplasmic reticulum pathway related proteins, thereby inhibiting the toxic effects of fluoride. In summary, fluoride activated the Caspase-12 signaling pathway and the JNK signaling pathway of endoplasmic reticulum pathway, which accelerated the apoptosis of renal tissue cells. However, low and medium doses of calcium relieved the toxic effects of fluoride by inhibiting the expressions of endoplasmic reticulum apoptosis pathway related genes and proteins.

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