No abstract available.
Animals ; Rats*

The authors studied the formation of giant mitochondria in liver cell. The Sprague Dawley rats were sacrificed following intervals; 5, 10, 20, 30, and 60 minutes after intraperitoneal injection of hydrazine in the amount of 200 microliter/kg. And the extracted liver tissues were examined with light and electron microscopes. The results obtained were summarized as follow; Light microscopically, there is little difference between control and experimental groups. Electron microscopically, elongated, bizzare shaped mitochondria are appears 5 minutes after hydrazine injection. Those show attenuated portion, Y, U, or C shaped feature suggesting fusion or budding mitochondria. The number of giant mitochondria is decreased after 10 minutes group and rarely present in 60 minutes group. The results suggest in this experiment that the formation of giant mitochondria is kind of reversible change and it is different from the mitochondrial swelling of cellular injury. Intermitochondrial fusion and mitochondrial budding may be related with the formation of giant mitochondria.
Rats ; Animals

The pulmonary microvasculatures of rats were studied by injection replicas prepared from Mercox. This medium enabled us to easily obtain consistent, stable, and complete injected replicas of the pulmonary vasculature. In order to investigate the three dimensional structures of the tributaries of the bronchial artery, such as the capillary plexus and vasa vasorum, we performed a scanning electron microscopic(SEM) study of the vascular casts, using Mercox CL-2B as a media. The alveolar capillaries revealed hexagonal or pentagonal rings of vascular networks. In some areas, the vascular rings composed a square network, The bronchial tree was supplied by the bronchial arteries which form a coarse capillary extending as far as the terminal bronchioles. Occasionally the capillary plexus was connected with adjacent capillary networks in and around the alveolar walls. The walls of the pulmonary artery revealed only a single layer of the vasa vasorum, but those of the pulmonary vein were surrounded by more complicated and well developed vasa vasorum than the pulmonary arterial side. The mean diameters of the venous vasa vasorum are greater than the arterial vasa vasorum.
Rats ; Animals

Ultrastructural study of the effects of amiodarone on the liver tissue was performed. Rats were fed with amiodarone containing diet and were sacrificerd at 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 8th weeks of experiment. Charateristic lisosomal inclusion bodies were appeared form first week, which were more prominent and increased in size at the 5th and 8th week of experiment. These inclusion bodies were found in hepatocytes, Kupffer cells, bile duct epithelial cells and fibroblasts but most prominent in hepatocytes. The lysosomal inclusion bodies could be divided into four types; those characterized by (1) dense bodies with packed crystaloid contents, (2) multilamellated bodies, (3) irregular shaped bodies with varying electron density and 4. dense bodies containing stacks of fine membranous structures. All types were found in all experimental groups. But the type 1 and 2 were predominent at early stage, while type 3 and 4 were more prominent at later stage According to these findings, the formation of the lysosmal inclusion body was a characteristic change in derangement of phospholipid metabolism. And amiodarone could induce disturbance of phospholipid metabolism in all kinds of cells in liver tissue.
Rats ; Animals

To clarity the effect of biliary obliteration on copper metabolism of rat liver and on the hepatic morphology, 0.5% cuppuric sulfate was administered intraperitoneally for 42 days following ligation of the common bile duct (CBD) of Sprague-Dawley rats. The blood copper concentration, the hepatic copper content and the accumulation patterns of copper and copper binding protein in the liver were examined and compared with those of the simple CBD ligation group and the simple copper over loaded group. CBD ligation induced marked proliferation of bile ductular structures which, after expanding the portal tracts, invaded and divided the hepatic lobules. There was, however, no excess fibosis beyond what needed to support the new ductules. The blood copper concentration and the hepatic copper content were increased by copper overload with or without CBD ligation, particularly incases with CBD ligation. Liver cell necrosis did not occur by the overloaded copper alone in rats. The hepatic copper and copper binding protein were accumulated at periportal liver cells in the group of coppe overload after CBD ligatio, whereas they began to appear at perivenular hepatocytes in the simple copper overloaded group. In conclusion, it is suggested that CBD ligation does not induce excess fibrosis or liver cirrhosis in rat as far as during our experimental period, but affect significantly on copper metabolism by intrahepatic redistribution of the copper and the copper binding proteins.
Rats ; Animals

Author performed this experiment to define the most important factor preventing the intimal thickening. An endothelium of abdominal aorta in the rat was denuded by two different wires having same caliver. The degree of injury was limited to the endothelial cells in one, and extended to the internal elastic lamina in another. The results showed that at 72 hours, in the case of superficial injury, the entire injury site was covered by new regenerating cells, but in the case of disruption of the internal elastic lamina, the migrating smooth muscle cell completely reached into the intima and resulted in intemal thickening. Similar findings persisted to 1 week later. Above results suggest the most important factor preventing the intimal thickening in endothelial injury is the depth of the injury which limited within the endothelial cells without extending into the internal elastic lamina and medial smooth muscle cells.
Rats ; Animals

To evaluate the ultrastructural changes and the mechanism causing liver injury by lead, light and electron microscopic(LM and EM) examination using Timm sulphide silver method(TSM) was done. Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into a control and 3 experimental groups. The experimental groups were orally administered 0.5% lead acetate(LA). Group 1 received a one time dose of 10 ml of LA by gastric intubation. Groups 2 and 3 continuously received LA instead of drinking water. The control group was composed of 3 rats in each group which did not receive any treatment. Rats of group 1, 2 and 3 and control were sacrificed at 1/2, 1, 1 1/2 hours, 2 days, and at 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks later, except group 3. Before sacrifice, they were perfused with 0.1% sodium sulphide and 2.5% glutaraldehyde through the abdominal aorta for TSM. The liver was taken for LM and EM examinations. Blood lead concentration began to increase from the 2nd day up to 3.29 microgram/ml at 2nd week, and the urinary delta-ALA level showed a steady increase from the 2nd day. LM and EM examination of liver revealed that absorbed lead granules in group 1 were transported into sinusoidal spaces, Kupffer cells, and the hepatocytes within 1 hour and then disappeared 1/2 hour thereafter. In group 2 deposited lead was found in the hepatocytic cytosol bound to mitochondria. That in turn inhibited mitochondrial respiration with resultant mitochondrial swelling at the 1st week and thereafter at 6th week myelin figure formation and condensation of mitochondria, and peroxisomes were increased at 8th week. Based on these results it can be concluded that a transient intake of subletal dose of LA is biotransformed completely by periportal hepatocytes within 1 1/2 hours, but excessively accumulated lead can induce liver cell injury due to lipid peroxidation of membrane by direct toxic effect of lead and by products of lipid peroxidation. We postulate that lead acetate triggers presumably primarily mitochondrial membrane injury and then other organellar changes may play a role in disturbance of a network of interacting of key events capable of causing cell death.
Rats ; Animals

The purpose of this study was to investigate the morphologic changes of the bile canaliculi and its associated structures of the liver induced by common bile duct ligation(CBDL) in the rat. The canalicular surface and lateral surface of the dry-fractured hepatocytes was studied with scanning electron microscopy at 1~6 weeks post ligation. The first week after CBDL, the bile canaliculi were dilated. The microvilli were increased in number and the lumens contained granular materials After 2 weeks or more, the bile canaliculi were dilated to a variable degree, and with irregularity, measuring from 1.5 to 5 micrometer in diameter, and in the advanced stage, the canaliculi showed blunting and the disappearance of microvilli. Some canaliculi had sprouting side branches. At 4~6 weeks post-ligation, the lateral surface of the hepatocytes also showed some irregularity and a tortuous appearance, and numerous small sized microvillous projections were formed. The tubular structures of the proliferated SER distributed adjacent to the lateral surface of the hepatocytes, and the direct connection of a tubular structure and the cytoplasmic membrane was observed. These results suggest that the deformity and loss of microvilli of bile canaliculi reflect the disturbance of bile secretion from the hepatocytes. And prolonged obstruction of bile flow may result in bile excretion via the lateral surface of hepatocytes.
Rats ; Animals

No abstract available.
Animals ; Rats*

OBJECTIVE: The acidic saline animal model of pain has been suggested to mimic fibromyalgia (FM). In this model, repeated intramuscular (IM) injections of acidic saline produce a widespread hyperalgesia that persists without evidence of significant peripheral tissue damage or inflammation, and is believed to be centrally maintained. We examined the changes of pain-related neurotransmitters in specific brain regions of this model after deep-sea water (DSW) drinking. METHODS: Rats were injected with 100microliter of acidic saline (pH 4.0) at days 0 and 5 into the left gastrocnemius muscle. Control rats received identical injections of physiological saline (pH 7.2) on the same schedule. Two acidic saline rats were given DSW from 1 week following the last IM injection to sacrifice. All rats were sacrificed on day 20. All regions of interest were examined for the changes of pain-related neurotransmitters with immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Preliminary results showed that compared to controls, acid injected rats demonstrated strong expression of serotonin in red and raphe nucleus. Acid injected rats showed significant reductions of the serotonin expression in red and raphe nucleus after DSW drinking. CONCLUSION: IM acid injections increased the expression of serotonin in red and raphe nucleus of rats. The overwhelming reduction of serotonin expression in the nuclei after DSW drinking suggests DSW might be helpful for pain and anxiety. These preliminary data support the validity of acidic saline treatment as a model of FM, and provide a foundation for future analyses of specific brain regions that contribute to this syndrome.
Rats ; Animals