Abstract:
Numerous cases of poisoning resulting from scorpion bites are reported annually
in tropical and subtropical countries. Lethality from the effects of scorpion venom
components is mainly associated with the ability of their neurotoxins to change
the functional properties of ion channels. The kidneys are among the first to be
affected by scorpion venoms, and among the main morphological manifestations of
organ damage under these conditions are oedema, necrosis, haemorrhages, and
lymphocytic infiltration. The study aims to examine the histological changes in rat
kidney tissue 1 day after exposure to the venom of the scorpion Leiurus macroctenus.
The study utilised 10 white male laboratory rats weighing 200 g (±10 g), bred in the
vivarium of the Educational and Scientific Centre “Institute of Biology and Medicine”
at the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. The venom of scorpions of the
Buthidae family, genus Leiurus, species Leiurus macroctenus, was administered to
rats once intramuscularly (0.5 ml of venom solution previously dissolved in saline;
28.8 μg/ml; LD50=0.08 mg/kg). Kidney samples of animals of all groups were taken
for microscopic examination. Histological preparations of the kidneys were stained
with hematoxylin and eosin. The toxic effect of scorpion venom on the first day of the
experiment caused profound dystrophic-degenerative changes in the parenchymal
components of the kidney, against the background of remodelling of the vascular
bed of the organ, which is accompanied by the formation of stasis, thrombi, and
volumetric haemorrhages. Significant alternative changes in the renal corpuscles
are manifested by their deformation, atrophy, hyperemia and multiple haemorrhages.
In the tubular system, pronounced hydropic, protein, and droplet-protein dystrophy
were detected, and in their lumens, voluminous accumulations of cellular detritus
were observed. Thus, in acute poisoning of rats with Leiurus macroctenus venom,
stasis, thrombus formation, and massive haemorrhages in the cortical and medullary
parts of the kidneys are observed within a day, as well as dystrophic changes in the
tubular part of the nephrons (distal, proximal tubules, and collecting tubules). The
indirect effect of the venom led to the formation of voluminous, inflammatory loci of
leukocyte infiltrates in the interstitium and directly in the tubules and renal corpuscles.
