Histomorphometrical and Stereological Study of the Lungs in Neonatal Rats Born to Paraquat-poisoned Pregnant Rats: Protective Effect of Coenzyme Q10

Background: Paraquat (PQ), an herbicide, is a very poisonous compound for both humans and animals. This study was conducted to examine the protective effect of the Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) in newborn rats from pregnant rats pre-treated with PQ. Methods: The experiments were conducted on 25 rats, divided in five groups randomly and equally: 1 - Control Group received normal saline (0.1ml/day); 2 - PQ Group received PQ only (5 mg/kg/day); 3 – PQ + CoQ10 Group received PQ (5mg/kg) and CoQ10 (10mg/kg) daily; 4 – PQ + olive oil Group received PQ (5mg/kg) and olive oil (10mg/kg) daily; 5 - Olive oil Group received olive oil (10 mg/kg/day). All of the injections were made intraperitoneally and started on the 16th day of pregnancy through to parturition. Sixteen days after parturition, the lungs were removed from the newborn rats, paraffin sections were made and stained with hematoxylin and eosin, and analyzed histomorphometrically and stereologically. Results: The results revealed that interstitial tissue and lung alveoli had normal structures in the control and olive oil groups. In PQ and PQ-olive oil groups alveolar hemorrhage, inflammation, extensive fibrosis, decreased alveolar numbers, increased mast cells, and changes in the epithelia were observed. In PQ-CoQ10 Group there was a significant recovery in all of the histological alterations. Conclusion: Generally, Coenzyme Q10 had a protective effect against lung damages caused by PQ, but a complete recovery of the damaged lung tissue would probably take longer than 16 days after birth.