Abstract
In this review, the influence of lithium treatment in mouse, rat, and rabbit skin, liver, bone, and aorta, as well as arachnoid and dura mater collagen fibrils, is examined using electron microscopy and image processing. Structural changes (fibril architecture and diameter) are detected at the ultrastructural level in specimens from all lithium-treated tissues. The overall collagen fibril architecture is disturbed as compared with specimens from normal species. The mean diameter values of treated collagen fibrils are significantly smaller than those from controls in all tissues examined. The banding patterns of fibrils are normal in all cases. Measurements by a computerized method of measuring axial periodicity of fibrils indicate no effect of lithium on this parameter. Computer analysis shows no differences in charged amino acid composition between lithium-treated and -untreated samples. Under the present experimental conditions, lithium can induce permanent structural collagen alterations.
Highlights
Lithium has been used as a treatment for various psychiatric and somatic illnesses for more than 50 years[1]
At a short treatment period of 7 days with lithium doses 0.7 and 1.5 meq Li/kg, a high level of skin collagen fibril disorganization is observed while fibril diameter is less affected, indicating that this parameter is dependent on the duration of lithium treatment[29]
To seek information as to whether or not the observed structural effects of lithium on skin collagen fibrils are dependent on the experimental species, in addition to mice, Wistar rats at the same age and rabbits 7 months of age were used
Summary
Laboratory of Medical Physics, Medical School, Ioannina University, 45110 Ioannina, Greece. The influence of lithium treatment in mouse, rat, and rabbit skin, liver, bone, and aorta, as well as arachnoid and dura mater collagen fibrils, is examined using electron microscopy and image processing. Structural changes (fibril architecture and diameter) are detected at the ultrastructural level in specimens from all lithium-treated tissues. The overall collagen fibril architecture is disturbed as compared with specimens from normal species. The mean diameter values of treated collagen fibrils are significantly smaller than those from controls in all tissues examined. The banding patterns of fibrils are normal in all cases. Measurements by a computerized method of measuring axial periodicity of fibrils indicate no effect of lithium on this parameter. Under the present experimental conditions, lithium can induce permanent structural collagen alterations. DOMAINS: microscopy, bioinformatics, protein databases, drug design, drug metabolism, molecular pharmacology, pharmacokinetics & pharmacodynamics, extracellular matrix, computational biology, biophysics
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