Protective Effect of Silymarin and Mitoquinone (MitoQ) Aganist Hepatotoxicity of Cadmium Telluride Quantum Dot (CdTe QDs) Nanoparticles in Mice

As a result of the increasing use of quantum dots (QDs) and increased exposure of human beings to quantum dots, the study of the toxicity of the particles has become an important issue. In this study, the protective activity of silymarin and mitoquinone (MitoQ), which are known to have antioxidant properties, on the histopathological and biochemical changes observed in the liver of mice treated with CdTe QDs was investigated. 26 male Swiss mice were randomly divided into four groups: Control (G1), CdTe QDs (G2), silymarin + CdTe QDs (G3), mitoquinone + CdTe QDs (G4) application groups. Animals were sacrificed 24 hours (h) after injections and hyperspectral microscopy images were obtained. According to the ICP–MS results, the CdTe QDs injected through the tail vein accumulated in the liver at the end of 24 h and caused tissue damage according to the hematoxylin & eosin examination, and better preservation was observed with the antioxidant pre–treatment. The immunofluorescence results showed increased inflammation and apoptosis in the QDs group. It was observed that silymarin and mitoquinone decreased anti–MMP–9, anti–IL–10, anti–IL–1b, anti–TNF–α, and anti–caspase–9, TUNEL– positive cell ratio, liver MDA levels. There was no significant difference in serum TAS (P=0.509), TOS (P=0.588) levels, but antioxidants also increased tissue SOD and CAT levels. Antioxidants had no significant effect on anti–MT–MMP2 and anti–caspase–8 levels (P<0.001). In conclusion, it was shown that pretreatment of CdTe QD–administered mice with silymarin and mitoquinone can reduce oxidative stress in liver tissue and may have a protective effect through reduction of apoptosis and inflammation.