Yonsei Med J.  2000 Apr;41(2):195-204. 10.3349/ymj.2000.41.2.195.

Early ultrastructural changes of apoptosis induced by fumonisin B1 in rat liver

• Moon WS
• Kim JH
• Kang MJ
• Lee DG

• KMID: 1758509
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2000.41.2.195

Abstract

A time sequential study was performed to investigate the histological and ultrastructural findings of fumonisin B1-induced apoptosis in the male Sprague-Dawley rat liver. Six hours after administration of FB1, marked morphologic changes of hepatocytes included the appearance of small vacuoles along the margin of cell membrane. Twelve hours after injection of FB1, acidophilic degeneration of cells occurred, but no fragmented nucleus was evident around the centrilobular area, with few apoptotic cells. By electron microscope, the degenerated acidophilic cells revealed following changes: characteristic formation of cytoplasmic vacuoles, condensed cytoplasm, detachment from neighboring cells, and as well as margination of nuclear chromatin and swollen mitochondria with amorphous matrical deposit. The number of apoptotic cells or bodies was further enhanced at 24 hours in the vicinity of dense acidophilic cells, resulting in a marked increase over the values of control rats. Serum analysis revealed the elevation of cholesterol levels from the beginning to the end of this experiment. Morphologic data and serum findings in this study support the theory that FB1-induced alteration of membrane lipid constituents of the hepatocytes are likely to be early key events in explaining the FB1 apoptotic effect.

Keyword

Fumonisin; hepatocyte; apoptosis

MeSH Terms

Animal
Carboxylic Acids/toxicity*
Cytokines/biosynthesis
In Situ Nick-End Labeling
Liver/ultrastructure
Liver/drug effects*
Male
Microscopy, Electron
Mycotoxins/toxicity*
Organ Weight/drug effects
Rats
Rats, Sprague-Dawley