Histological Changes in the Lungs of Adult Wistar Rats Following Exposure to Paint Fumes

Whether through employment, home remodeling, or through any contact, a large majority of us get exposed to hazardous paint fumes throughout our lifetime. The present work investigated the effect of paint fumes on the histology of the lungs. Sixteen adult male Wistar rats weighing about 130-160 g were used for the study. The rats were divided into four groups A-D of four rats per group. Groups A-C was the experimental animals while Group D acted as the control. Groups A, B and C were exposed to paint fumes for 8 hours daily for three weeks, four weeks and five weeks respectively. Group D animals were exposed to air for 8 hours for five weeks. The weight of the animals was recorded at the end of each week during the experiment. On the last day of exposure, the animals were sacrificed and the lungs were excised and fixed in 10% formal saline and processed. Tissue sections were stained with: Hematoxylin and Eosin for general histology and Periodic Acidic Schiff for type 2 alveolar cells. The alveolar cells of the treated groups undergo fibrosis compared to the control group and increase in the number of type 2 secretory alveolar cells. Exposure to paint fumes over time is dangerous to the lungs and can cause respiratory distress.Keywords: VOCs, Histology, Lungs, Alveoli, Type 2 alveolar cell