Abstract
Leachate from municipal solid waste is a mixture of xenobiotics capable of contaminating bodies of water and causing damage to the health of living beings that inhabit or consume contaminated water. A previous study revealed the presence of heavy metals in Urban Solid Waste Transfer Station (USWTS) leachate above the permissible national and international limits. In the present study, we demonstrate that subchronic oral administration (5 and 25 % v/v) of leachate to male Wistar rats caused changes in the immunoreactivity of the glial markers: GFAP and Iba-1, accompanied by an increase in the expression of caspase-3, and a decrease in the expression of the NeuN protein. Results indicate that the heavy metals present in the leachate induced neuronal loss in the prefrontal cortex, suggesting that these contaminants can cause neurological problems in mammals that consume surface water with xenobiotics, since the leachate could contaminate water bodies and underground water.