Abstract:In this study, KM mice were used as experimental animals. The effects of patulin (PAT) at concentration gradients of 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, 10 and 15 μmol/L on the body weight and renal coefficients in mice were investigated. The toxicity and damage of PAT to the kidneys were examined through section staining experiments. The PAT concentration had little effect on the increasing rate of body weight, and there was almost no correlation between them. However, as the concentration of PAT increased, the kidney coefficients tended to increase gradually, with the difference between the 7.5 μmol/L PAT treatment and 10 μmol/L PAT treatment being significant (p<0.05). As the concentration of PAT increased, large areas of cell stroma and extracellular matrix were observed after HE staining (hematoxylin-eosin staining), with the number of bluish purple nuclei and the nucleus density gradually decreasing. In addition, there were long blank strips at higher PAT concentrations. After Masson staining, glomeruli showed sinificant fibrosclerosis, along with intercellular congestion. A small amount of glycogen appeared after periodic acid-schiff (PAS) staining, indicating that glycogen was not normally degraded. Therefore, the increase in PAT concentration led to problems such as decreased nucleus density, shrinkage of kidney cells, increased collagen fibers and inhibition of glycogenolysis, causing severe kidney damage in KM mice. This result will provide theoretical support for further studies on the damage of PAT to the kidney.
