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. 2022 Dec;37(4):e2022034-0.
doi: 10.5620/eaht.2022034. Epub 2022 Nov 3.

Hematologic evaluation of peripheral blood in Sprague Dawley rats by chronic exposure to aluminum chloride (AlCl3)

Alba Rita Valenzuela-Briseño  1 , Jeanette Guadalupe Arredondo-Damian  1 , Antonio Rascón-Careaga  1 , Humberto Astiazaran-Garcia  1   2 , Agustín Gómez-Álvarez  3 , Reynaldo Esquivel-Gónzalez  4 , Roberto Carlos Carrillo-Torres  4 , Enrique Álvarez-Ramos  4 , Rafael Canett-Romero  5 , Leticia García-Rico  2 , Alejandro Monserrat García-Alegría  1
Affiliations

Hematologic evaluation of peripheral blood in Sprague Dawley rats by chronic exposure to aluminum chloride (AlCl3)

Alba Rita Valenzuela-Briseño et al. Environ Anal Health Toxicol. 2022 Dec.

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate whether aluminum chloride (AlCl3) causes hematological changes in the peripheral blood of Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Five groups of female SD rats were intragastrically administered with 4 different concentrations of AlCl3 for 5 days a week for a total of 90 days. The aluminum concentration was determined via graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy. Analysis of serum iron-kinetic profiles, blood cytometry outcomes, and blood smears of the blood samples. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Raman spectroscopy were used to search for structural and ultrastructural changes, respectively. Blood aluminum concentration ranged 12.38-16.24 μg/L with no significant difference between experimental treatments. At the AlCl3 concentration of 40 mg Al/kg bw of rats/day, the mean ferritin value in the serum iron kinetic profile was 29.81±6.1 ng/mL, and this value showed a significant difference between experimental treatments. Blood cytometry revealed that there were 6.45-7.11×106 cells/μL erythrocytes, 8.91-9.32×103 cells/μL leukocytes, and 477.2-736.3×103 cells/μL platelets along with a hemoglobin of 37.38-41.93 g/dL and hematocrit level of 37.38-41.93%; the experimental treatments showed no significant differences. Erythrocyte structural analysis using SEM showed no differences between experimental treatments, whereas ultrastructural evaluation using Raman spectroscopy made it possible to identify the following bands: 741, 1123, 1350, 1578, and 1618 cm-1, which were respectively associated with the following vibrational modes and compounds: vibration of the tryptophan ring, asymmetric C-O-C stretching of glucose, C-H curve of tryptophan, C=C stretching of the heme group, and C-N stretching of the heme group, with no significant differences between experimental treatments. Therefore, AlCl3 administration does not induce ultrastructural changes in the erythrocyte membrane. This study revealed that serum ferritin concentration was the only parameter affected by AlCl3 exposure at 40 mg of Al/kg bw of rats/day.

Keywords: Sprague Dawley rats; aluminum chloride; hematological evaluation.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest. The institutions that funded the research had no role in the study design, in the collection, analysis or interpretation of the data; nor in the writing of the manuscript or the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Ferritin calibration curve.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Artifacts found in peripheral blood smears of Sprague Dawley rats exposed to AlCl3 concentrations with Wright-Giemsa stain: (A) Group A, crenocytes; (B) Group B, crenocytes and dacryocytes; (C) Group C, crenocytes; (D) Group D, crenocytes; (E) Group E, crenocytes.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Peripheral blood smear from Sprague Dawley rats exposed to different concentrations of AlCl3 observed by SEM (1500x): (A) Group A; (B) Group B; (C) Group C; (D) Group D; (E) Group E.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Raman Spectra of erythrocytes of Sprague Dawley rats exposed to different concentrations of AlCl3. Groups A to E.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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