Oral Administration of Copper Chloride Damages DNA, Lowers Antioxidant Defense, Alters Metabolic Status, and Inhibits Membrane Bound Enzymes in Rat Kidney

Copper (Cu) is a heavy metal that is widely used in industries and is also an essential micronutrient for living beings. However, excess Cu is toxic and human exposure to high levels of this metal results in numerous adverse health effects. We have investigated the effect of oral administration of copper chloride (CuCl 2 ), a Cu(II) compound, on various parameters of oxidative stress, cellular metabolism, and DNA integrity in the rat kidney. This was done to delineate the molecular mechanism of Cu(II) toxicity. Adult male rats were randomly divided into five groups. Animals in four CuCl 2 -treated groups were separately administered single acute oral dose of CuCl 2 at 5, 15, 30, and 40 mg/kg body weight. Animals in the fifth group were not given CuCl 2 and served as the control. All rats were sacrificed 24 h after the dose of CuCl 2 and their kidneys removed. CuCl 2 administration led to significant alterations in enzymatic and non-enzymatic parameters of oxidative stress. It changed the activities of metabolic and membrane bound enzymes and also decreased the activities of brush border membrane enzymes. CuCl 2 treatment dose-dependently enhanced DNA damage and DNA–protein crosslinking in renal cells, when compared to the control group. The administration of CuCl 2 also resulted in marked morphological changes in the kidney, with more prominent alterations at higher doses of CuCl 2 . These results clearly show that CuCl 2 impairs the antioxidant defense system resulting in oxidative damage to the kidney.