ULTRACYTOCHEMICAL CHANGES IN THE DISTRIBUTION OF ACID PHOSPHATASE IN THE LIVER CELLS OF VITAMIN E DEFICIENT AND VITAMIN E SUPPLEMENTED RATS

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Young male Wistar king rats (ca. 100-150g) were kept on a vitamin E deficient diet for 8 and 15 weeks respectively. Some of the rats from the 15 week deficiency group were subsequently fed with vitamin E supplemented diet for a further 15 weeks. Ultracytochemical changes of acid phosphatase (ACPase) activity with reference to morphological changes were observed in the hepatic parenchymal and Kupffer cells of these rats against controls.
In the deficient specimens, enzymatically positive and negative lysosomes were seen in the hepatic parenchymal cells, with occasional morphologically altered Golgi apparatus with no activity. In these cells, an increased number of fat vacuoles were seen. Kupffer cells, on the other hand, showed enlarged lysosomes and enormously enlarged lipid pigment bodies or ceroids with no trace of activity. Autophagolysosomes were also seen with varying degrees of activity.
In the rats of a vitamin E supplemented diet, no large lipid pigment bodies of this type were encountered. Their histochemical and morphological analysis was similar to that of the controls, other than having some fat vacuoles. This indicates the morphological and enzymatic recovery subsequent to the vitamin E supplementation.
The results are discussed in relation to the lipid peroxidation.