Abstract
BACKGROUND: Diabetes and its complications are age-related diseases. Low-grade inflammation plays the main role in the aging processes. Diazinon (DZN), an organophosphate pesticide, has been found to induce metabolic disturbances. OBJECTIVE: The present study was designed to investigate the impact of DZN on age-related changes on inflammatory cells, blood glucose concentration, lipid profile, and liver and kidney function indices in adult and aged rats. METHODS: Male rats (2 and 16 month old) were orally administrated with DZN (15 mg/kg) for 4 weeks. Then the blood was obtained for measuring inflammatory cells, lipid profile, glucose and serum biochemical indices such as liver enzymes, albumin, total protein, creatinine (Cr), urea, and uric acid in the serum of adult and aged male rats. RESULTS: DZN increased the blood levels of glucose and the percentage of lymphocytes and also serum levels of TChol, TG, LDL-c, AST, ALT, ALP, LDH, Cr, urea, and uric acid in the adult and aged rats versus the aged matched control rats (p< 0.001). A marked reduction in HDL-c levels, total protein, albumin, and in the percentage of neutrophils were seen in the adult and aged animals exposed to DZN versus the aged matched control rats. DZN also increased the levels of LDL-c and ALT in the aged rats versus adult animals. CONCLUSION: The present study indicated that DZN can cause metabolic disturbance. However, the age-dependent effects of DZN on metabolic indices were not be confirmed by the present data.