Morphometric study of the effect of leupeptin, vinblastine, estron acetate and cycloheximide on the autophagic vacuole-lysosomal compartments in mouse seminal vesicle cells.

Abstract

Changes in the cytoplasmic volume fractions of autophagic vacuoles and lysosomes in mouse seminal vesicle cells were evaluated by morphometric analysis following administration of either one of the drugs estrone acetate, vinblastine sulphate, leupeptin, cycloheximide, or their different combinations. The treatments lasted for 2 h. Leupeptin caused a significant increase in the cytoplasmic volume fractions of lysosomes (defined as dense bodies limited by a single membrane) and autophagic vacuoles (defined as membrane-limited bodies containing recognizable fragments of cytoplasm) which became about 6 and 40 times larger, respectively, than controls. This was accompanied by a decrease in the ratio of surface to volume of lysosomes. An increase in the sizes of autophagic vacuole and lysosomal compartments (by about 3 and 10 times, respectively, as compared with controls) was observed in the estrone acetate — treated group. The shape of lysosomes became highly irregular in these animals and their surface densities did not differ significantly from those of controls. The cytoplasmic volume fraction of autophagic vacuoles was largest in the vinblastine treated animals (an increase by about 80 times, as compared with controls) in which the autophagic vacuole compartment became almost two times larger than the lysosomal one. The size of the latter did not differ significantly from that of controls.