2000 Volume 53 Issue 3 Pages 140-143
To investigate the role of apoptosis in the formation of necrotizing hepatitis in cases of the rabbit hemorrhagic disease (RHD), we examined 3 rabbits killed by a natural outbreak of the disease in Shizuoka Prefecture in 1995 and 5 rabbits experimentally inoculated with the RHD virus (Shizuoka strain). All of the inoculated rabbits either died or were killed at from 26.5 to 35 hours after infection. Histological investigation showed severe necrotizing hepatitis in the periportal areas of the liver and fibrinous thrombosis in the lungs and kidneys. Acidophilic bodies, condensed and marginated nuclei, and karyorrhexis of the hepatocytes were observed in and around the necrotic lesions. TUNEL-positive hepatocytes were scattered mainly at lobe peripheries. Electron-microscopic investigation revealed apoptotic cells with condensation of the marginal nuclear chromatin. These findings suggest that apoptosis of the hepatocytes contributes to the pathogenesis of hepatic lesions in RHD.
