Fluoride-induced histopathology and synthesis of stress protein in liver and kidney of mice.

Selective low (15 mg sodium fluoride (NaF)/L) and relatively high (150 mg NaF/L) doses of in vivo fluoride (F) treatment to Swiss albino mice through drinking water elicited organ-specific toxicological response. All the F-exposed groups showed severe alterations in both liver and kidney architectures, but there was no significant change in the rate of water consumption and body weight. Vacuolar degeneration, micronecrotic foci in the hepatocytes, and hepatocellular hypertrophy were evident in the mice exposed to low dose (15 mg NaF/L for 30 days) while sinusoidal dilation with enlarged central vein surrounded by deep-blue erythrocytes were preponderant when treated with the same dose for a period of 90 days. Blood filled spaces, disintegration of tubular epithelium, and atrophy of glomeruli were also recorded in the kidney of the same treatment group. Change in reduced glutathione level (GSH), glutathione-s-transferase (GST) activity, malondialdehyde (MDA) production in both liver and kidney, disturbances in liver function, induction of heat shock protein 70 (Hsp 70) expression in kidney and its down regulation in liver were positively correlated with histopathological lesion.