Evaluation of suppressive effects of paraquat on innate immunity in Balb/c mice

Figures & data

Table 1.  Effects of subacute exposure to paraquat (PQ) IP over 28 days on mice blood markers.

Parameter	1 mg PQ/kg	0.1 mg PQ/kg	0.01 mg PQ/kg	Normal saline (NS)
Hb (g/dl)	13.60 ± 0.25	13.80 ± 0.14	13.90 + 0.11	14.20 ± 0.21
Hct (%)	40.7 ± 0.8	41.2 ± 0.5	41.5 ± 0.5	42.5 ± 0.7
WBC (cell/μl)	10966 ± 428*	8433 ± 458	8583 ± 486	8450 ± 349
Neutrophil	1823 ± 174*	714 ± 91	813 ± 59	653 ± 88
Lymphocyte	8951 ± 550^a	7550 ± 354	7583 ± 496	7700 ± 348
Monocyte	208 ± 44	200 ± 28	210 ± 13	125 ± 17

Data shown are in terms of mean ± SE.

*Value is significantly different (p < 0.05) compared to control group.

^aValue is relatively significant different (p < 0.1) compared to the control group.

Table 2.  Effects of subacute exposure to paraquat (PQ) IP over 28 days on mice organ weights.

Parameter	1 mg PQ/kg	0.1 mg PQ/kg	0.01 mg PQ/kg	Normal saline (NS)
Body weight (g)Before	20.20 ± 0.21	19.90 ± 0.34	20.00 ± 0.24	20.00 ± 0.22
After	19.90 ± 0.22	19.90 ± 0.16	20.20 ± 0.22	20.10 ± 0.18
Spleen weight (mg)	*83.00 ± 1.96	86.33 ± 3.16	91.66 ± 2.66	92.33 ± 2.37
Relative weight % BW	*0.41 ± 0.01	0.43 ± 0.01	0.45 ± 0.01	0.45 ± 0.01
Thymus weight (mg)	62.16 ± 2.30	66.00 ± 2.46	74.50 ± 2.90	67.80 ± 2.13
Relative weight % BW	0.30 ± 0.01	0.32 ± 0.01	0.36 ± 0.02	0.33 ± 0.01
Liver weight (mg)	981 ± 30	973 ± 41	1006 ± 29	966 ± 50
Relative weight % BW	4.91 ± 0.15	4.89 ± 0.23	4.97 ± 0.15	4.78 ± 0.23
Kidney weight (mg)	306.0 ± 6.8	295 ± 7.6	301 ± 12.3	304 ± 6.5
Relative weight % BW	1.53 ± 0.04	1.48 ± 0.04	1.48 ± 0.05	1.50 ± 0.04

Data shown are in terms of mean ± SE.

*Value is significantly different (p < 0.05) compared to control group.

Table 3.  Histopathological analysis of mice spleen following subacute exposure to a high dose of PQ IP over 28 days.

Parameter	PQ (1 mg/kg)	Normal saline (NS)
White pulp atrophy	+	−
Capsular-trabecular change	−	−
Red pulp:white pulp ratio	+	−

−: No changes observed, +: minimal observable changes, ++: readily detectable changes.

Table 4.  Effects of subacute exposure to paraquat (PQ) IP over 28 days on mice spleen cellularity and CD49b subtype.

Parameter	1 mg PQ/kg	0.1 mg PQ/kg	0.01 mg PQ/kg	Normal saline (NS)
Spleen cell content (×10^7)	6.44 ± 0.58*	7.98 ± 0.35	8.65 ± 0.33	8.53 ± 0.53
CD49b cell (%)	5.50 ± 0.42	6.40 ± 0.40	5.20 ± 0.87	6.30 ± 0.55
CD49b content (×10^7)	0.35 ± 0.04*	0.51 ± 0.04	0.43 ± 0.06	0.51 ± 0.05

Data shown are in terms of mean ± SE.

^*Value is significantly different (p < 0.05) compared to control group.

Table 5.  Effects of subacute exposure to paraquat (PQ) IP over 28 days on mice humoral components of immune system.

Parameter	1 mg PQ/kg	0.1 mg PQ/kg	0.01 mg PQ/kg	Normal saline (NS)
IgG (μg/ml)	9316 ± 247	9583 ± 283	10033 ± 335	9700 ± 356
IgM (μg/ml)	1021 ± 101	1200 ± 83	1355 ± 144	1228 ± 182
C3 (mg/dl)	30.00 ± 1.00	29.40 ± 0.88	27.00 ± 0.92	27.60 ± 0.82
CH50 (u/μl)	25.6 ± 2.1	29.0 ± 1.8	33.0 ± 2.0	30.7 ± 1.6

Data shown are in terms of mean ± SE.

Figure 1.  Phagocytosing capacity of blood phagocytic cells of study (given PQ) and control (given NS) mice. *Data are significantly different (p < 0.05) from the control group. Data was expressed in terms of arbitrary units.

Table 6.  Effects of subacute exposure to paraquat (PQ) IP over 28 days on general toxicity markers.

Parameter	1 mg PQ/kg	0.1 mg PQ/kg	0.01 mg PQ/kg	Normal saline (NS)
AST (IU/l)	1978 ± 37	2016 ± 55	1933 ± 42	1873 ± 39
ALT (IU/l)	2780 ± 40	2690 ± 37	2656 ± 42	2688 ± 33
LDH (IU/l)	4718 ± 113	4395 ± 76	4426 ± 97	4523 ± 117

Data shown are in terms of mean ± SE.