Melatonin ameliorates chronic copper-induced lung injury

Copper (Cu) is an important trace element required for several biological processes. The use of copper is increasing gradually in several applications. Previous studies suggest that excess levels of copper are attributed to induce oxidative stress and inflammation, mediating tissue damage. Inline, melatonin the hormone of darkness has been reported to exhibit various therapeutic effects including strong free radical scavenging properties and anti-inflammatory effects. However, its effects against pulmonary injury promoted by copper are not explored and remain unclear so far. Therefore, the present study was aimed to investigate the protective effect of melatonin against copper-induced lung damage. Female Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were exposed to 250 ppm of copper in drinking water for 16 weeks and treated with melatonin (i.p.) 5 and 10 mg/kg from the week (13–16th). The extent of tissue damage was assessed by tissue oxidative stress parameters, metal estimation and histological analysis. Copper-challenged rats showed altered oxidative stress variables. In addition, metal analysis revealed increased copper accumulation in the lungs and histological staining results further indicated severe tissue injury and inflammatory cell infiltration in copper-exposed rats. To this side, treatment with melatonin showed antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities evidenced by reduced oxidative stress, tissue inflammation and collagen deposition as compared to copper-exposed animals. Moreover, spectral findings suggested melatonin treatment modulated the frequency sift, as compared to copper-challenged animals. Altogether, the present results suggest that melatonin might play a potential role in preventing copper-induced lung aberrations via inhibiting the ROS-mediated oxidative stress and inflammation.