Effects of the presence of indium on the mammary gland ultrastructure, body weight, food intake and plasmatic prolactin concentration.

Several studies have demonstrated the toxic effect of indium. This element induces impairments in many organs such as spleen, lungs and testicles after its systemic administration. Teratogenic and embryotoxic effects of this element have also been established. In the present study, we attempt to investigate the histological and the ultrastructural consequences of the presence of this element in mammary gland tissue using conventional transmission electron microscopy and to evaluate the incidences of its presence on the food intake, body weight and prolactin plasmatic concentration of lactating female rats. Our study showed that this element induced a significant decrease in food intake and body weight, and caused some cellular damage in the glandular epithelial cell such as cytoplasmic vacuolization and expansion of the ergastoplasm. The ultrastructural observations also showed many electron-dense surcharges in the lysosomes of the glandular epithelial cells. The electron probe microanalysis showed that these deposits are composed of indium and phosphorus. The lysosomes, known for their protective role of sequestrating foreign elements to avoid their diffusion in the blood, failed to stop the toxic effect of indium.