Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Turk Hijyen ve Deneysel Biyoloji Dergisi, cilt.81, sa.4, ss.419-430, 2024 (Scopus)
Objective: Copper plays an important role in the catalyzing of enzymes involved in the function of many enzymes in the cell, especially in mitochondria, where energy is produced in the cell, and is involved in mechanisms such as iron homeostasis, scavenging of free radicals, collagen, and elastin bond formation. The expression of internal potassium channels (Kir) is known in various tissues, especially in brain tissue. In this context, the aim of this study was to evaluate the morphological effect of Copper Sulphate (CuSO4) in male and female rat brain tissue and the expression of Kir2.1 and Kir4.1 in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus regions of the brain. Methods: In this study, female and male Sprague dawley rats were divided into control group (n=10) and CuSO4 group (n=10) and administered saline to the control group and CuSO4 (100 mg/kg) to the CuSO4group by oral gavage daily for 14 days. The animals were then euthanised and the brain tissues were examined histologically for morphological and tissue integrity and the expression of Kir channel proteins Kir2.1 and Kir4.1 was evaluated by immunohistochemical method. Results: Histomorphological characteristics of CuSO4 group brain tissues were observed to change and tissue integrity was disrupted. In both the control group and CuSO4 group, Kir2.1 expression in the prefrontal cortex region was more intense than in the hippocampus region in both sexes. Especially in female rats, intense Kir2.1 expression was observed in neurons in the prefrontal cortex region (p=0.001). In CuSO4 group, the main effect of region was found to be significant for Kir2.1 expression (p=0.014). Kir4.1 expression was observed to be intense in the hippocampus region of the control group, while there was a statistically significant difference between the regions in the control group (p<0.001). Conclusion: We found that brain tissue exposed to excessive CuSO4 could not fully preserve its morphology. In addition, we determined that Kir2.1 was intensely expressed especially in the prefrontal cortex region of the brain, but the expression of Kir4.1 was decreased in both prefrontal cortex and hippocampus regions of male rat brain tissues by CuSO4 treatment. The relationship between the damage caused by intensive CuSO4 application in brain tissue and the activation/inhibition of Kir channels needs to be investigated in more detail.