Ultrastructure of Hepatic Glycogen and Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum in Rats Treated with Compound 48/80

Abstract

While investigating the mast cell population in the liver of the rat, compound 48/80, a mast cell degranulating agent caused a significant increase in blood-glucose. Subsequent biochemical and histochemical analyses of hepatic tissue indicated that there was a decrease in hepatic glycogen. Since the degradation of glycogen has been associated with an increase in the amount of smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER), we have initiated a study with the objective of evaluating the changes in form and amount of SER in hepatocytes from animals treated with 48/80.Ten male Sprague-Dawley rats were anesthetized by injections (ip) of urethane (2 mg/g) and subsequently injected (iv) with 48/80 (50 ug/kg) or an equivalent volume (0.5 ml/100 g) of Ringer's solution as a control.Thirty minutes later, hepatic tissue was removed and fixed in 2% glutaral- dehyde and 2% paraformaldehyde in a 0.1 M Na cacodylate buffer (pH 7.3), postfixed in phosphate buffered 1% osmium tetroxide, and embedded in Epon.