Inducible Hsp70 Protected Liver and Kidney of Mice from the Oxidative Damage Induced by Exogenous Formaldehyde

Key words: 
• exogenous formaldehyde (FA) /
• inducible heat shock protein 70 /
• oxidative damage

Abstract: In order to explore the role of heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) in the toxic effect of exogenous formaldehyde (FA), male Balb/c mice were exposed to FA (3 mg·m^-3) or clean room air by nose-only inhalation for 8 h·d^-1, 5 days per week for two weeks. At the next day of the last-day exposure, the live and kidney tissues were collected for the terminal detection. Compared with the control group, the organ coefficients of liver or kidney tissues in the FA group significantly decreased (P<0.05 or P<0.01). The content of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) both significantly increased (P<0.05 or P<0.01), while the level of glutathione (GSH) decreased significantly (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Meanwhile, the gene expression level of Hsp70 was detected by real-time PCR (RT-PCR), and reduced significantly (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Pathological data of the H & E staining slices showed that FA exposure aggravated the damage on the central venous sinus, and the nucleuses were enlarged in the liver. What’s more, the glomerular basement membrane of kidney became narrower, and its volume was reduced or even decomposed. The results indicated that the oxidative stress induced by FA in kidney and liver tissues could be reversed by up-regulating Hsp70 gene expression.