CYTOCHEMICAL AND ELECTRON MICROSCOPIC STUDIES OF RAT LIVER WITH REDUCED CAPACITY TO TRANSPORT CONJUGATED BILIRUBIN

Abstract

The livers of rats treated with agents known to suppress bilirubin transport (icterogenin, an alkaloid derived from Lippia rehmanni or 17-ethyl 19-nortestosterone) appeared relatively normal on routine hematoxylin-eosin sections. However cytochemical and electron microscopic preparations revealed marked changes in : (a) levels of alkaline phosphatase and apparent ATPase activities of the cell membrane at the sinusoids, bile canaliculi, and between adjacent cells, (b) morphology of the bile canaliculi such as dilatation, fragmentation, vesiculation and reduced numbers of microvilli; (c) the number of lysosomes and their distribution within the cell, and (d) the morphology of the Golgi apparatus. Similar changes in the cytochemistry of the liver cell were produced by extrahepatic obstruction.