Fig. 10

Morphological features reflecting the toxicities of SiNPs (35 mg/kg, i.v.) on the liver and kidney in mice in vivo. a, b and c, H&E stains of liver tissues respectively for control (a), SiNP-20 exposure (b) and SiNP-100 exposure (c) for 72 h. Compared to the control liver tissue, both SiNP-20 and SiNP-100 induced multifocal liver necrosis (black arrows). SiNP-100 induced smaller liver vein congestion and coagulation (white arrows) except for causing focal necrosis. d, e and f, immunohistochemical stains of F4/80 in liver tissues (brown color) which suggested macrophage infiltration after exposure to both SiNPs. g, h and i, H&E stains of kidney tissues. Control kidney tissue showed a normal structure. Both SiNP-20 and SiNP-100 induced glomerular congestion and swelling as reflected by renal capsule narrowing. SiNP-100 also induced hyalinization in some renal areas (red colors indicated by black arrow). j, k and l, immunohistochemical stains of F4/80 in renal tissues which suggested macrophage infiltration after exposure to SiNPs for 72 h. Scale bar = 50 μm