6th ESACP Congress, Heidelberg, April 7-11, 1999

A129
STUDY OF SILVER-STAINED NUCLEOLI IN HEPATOCYTES OF CIRRHOTIC RAT LIVER
Stein GI, Kudryavtseva MV, Kudryavtsev BN

Institute of Cytology, Russian Academy of Sciences, St.Petersburg, Russia

In 25 white male rats weighing 150-170 g, silver-stained nucleoli of hepatocytes were studied in norm, in liver cirrhosis produced by CCl4 poisoning, and after cessation of the poisoning. The silver-nitrate- impregnation was performed by a one-step method on smears of isolated hepatocytes. Morphometric parameters of nucleoli were measured using a VIDEOTEST computer image analyzer. The mean number of nucleoli per nucleus was determined to be 3.63 and to exceed 1.28 times their normal number. The total volume of nucleoli in the nucleus was 25.3 mkm3 and also exceeded the normal level (by 1.14 times). In 3 month after the end of the poisoning with CCL4, these parameters decreased almost to normal values. A statistically significant correlation was revealed between the number of nucleoli and their total volume (0.889), between the number of nucleoli and the total protein content in the hepatocytes (0.792), and between the total volume of nucleoli and the total protein content (0.707). Possible reasons for this correlation are discussed. The ratio of the number of chromosomal NORs to the mean number of nucleoli in the nucleus is proposed to be used for comparison of morphometric parameters of nucleoli in nuclei of different ploidy and in cells of different animal species.