Table 2.

Organ-specific toxic mechanisms of Microcystin, established using various animal models.

Target Organ	Model	Exposure	Observed Changes	Reference
Liver	Various	Various	Hepatic inflammation; activation of Kupffer cells and hepatic stellate cells; centrilobular apoptosis and necrosis; cytoplasmic vacuolization; cytoskeletal reorganization; hepatocyte blebbing; hepatocarcinogenesis.	[115,116,117], https://doi.org/10.1293/tox.14.259 (accessed on 10 April 2023), [118]
Kidney	Adult male Wistar rats	Chronic, sub-lethal dose, administered intraperitoneally	Glomerular collapse with thickening of the basement membrane; renal tubules showed actin condensation, appeared dilated and filled with proteinaceous casts; increased apoptotic cells in renal cortex and medulla.	[119]
Brain	Adult male BALB/c mice	Chronic sub-lethal dose, administered orally via drinking water	Disruption of blood–brain barrier function; neuroinflammation; microglial and astrocyte activation.	[120]
Lung	Specific-pathogen-free female BALB/C mice	Chronic low dose, administered orally in drinking water	Alveolar collapse and thickening of alveolar septum; slight increase cellular apoptosis at a higher dose; loss of epithelial barrier function.	[121]
Heart	Adult Wistar rats	Chronic	Increased size of cardiomyocytes; reduced myofibril volume fraction; fibrosis; mononuclear infiltration in interstitial spaces.	[122]