Ultrastructural organization of liver hepatocytes of the Anglo-Nubian goat

Abstract

The aim of the study was to establish the ultrastructural organization of hepatocytes of the Anglo-Nubian goat. Livers of adult goats of the Anglo-Nubian breed served as the material for the study. The study was carried out using the electron microscopic method. For this purpose, fragments of liver parenchyma tissues, no larger than 2.0 mm3, were selected. The tissue samples were fixed in a 2.0% glutaraldehyde solution on a cacodylate buffer (pH 7.2-7.4) for 2 hours. Then, they were washed in three portions of the same buffer and post-fixed in a 1.0% solution of osmium tetrachloride (prepared in cacodylate buffer, pH 7.2-7.4) for 1 hour. Samples were dehydrated in increasing concentrations of alcohol and anhydrous acetone. The tissue fragments were then embedded in Epon-812. Ultrathin sections were obtained using an ultramicrotome (LKB-III, Sweden) and processed with 2.0% aqueous uranyl acetate and lead citrate solutions. The resulting ultrathin sections were photographed using a Jem-1011 electron microscope (JEOL, Japan) at 2500-3000? magnification. It was established that two morphological types of hepatocytes can be distinguished in the liver parenchyma of the Anglo-Nubian goat at the ultrastructural level ? dark and light, both with characteristic morphological features. Dark hepatocytes have a high electron-optical density due to the presence of a larger number of organelles. Light hepatocytes are characterized by a smaller number of organelles and a lower electron-optical density than dark hepatocytes.