Morphology of mitochondria and cell respiration,pt.1.

To reveal the mechanism of liver damage by taking CCl4 the author observed the liver tissues from rats at 1.5, 5, 6, 10, 17, 20, and 22 hours after the CCl4 administration, both by light microscope and electron-microscope. 1. Light microscope observation revealed the swelling of liver cells in the carly stage, the appearance of centrolobular fatty degeneration, focal degeneration area and the appearance of balloon cells, with the circulatory disturbances in accompanying stages and hemorrhage in the later stage. 2. Electron-microscope observation revealed the swelling of mitochondria, appearance of the files of thin ER's in the early stage and the regeneration and degeneration of mitochondria with an increase of microbodies in number. Fat droplets are developed from small ones probably from some microbodies without correlation with mitochondria. 3. From these observations the author is of the opinion that CCl4 arrests the cells at first inducing the swelling of cells and their mitochondria, but later the degenerative changes will become severe being complicated by the anoxia which is induced by the circulatory disturbances caused by the compression of vessels with the swollen cells.</p

An electron microscope study of liver cell in carbon tetrachloride intoxication, significance of "opaque area"

Electron microscope study on the rat liver cells of carbon tetrachloride poisoning has been reported. Observations have been made on the osmic fixed tissue sections obtained from the liver at early stages of poisoning, 5 to 22 hours after carbon tetrachloride oral administration, 0.25ml. per 100g. body weight. Special attention is paid on the appearance of electron dense area, opaque area, in cytoplasm, which is compased of fibrous components, probably originated from endoplasmic reticulum. This will be an important sign of cell degeneration. Toluidine blue, PAS and methyl green-pyronin stainings of the thicker sections from the same samples as used for electron microscopy revealed that the opaque area is stained by toluidine blue and pyronin but not by PAS. The opaque areas appear already five hours after the carbon tetrachloride administration and show some continuity with elongated filaments of endoplasmic reticulum. At an advanced stage of paisoning the opaque area increases in its number and size, but some of them are shrunk as a mass, being separated from the surrounding cytoplasm with scanty area. Often they form denser masses in the center and loak like the lipid deposition. The picture suggests formation of lipid droplets in the case of fatty degeneration of the liver cell.</p

Morphology of mitochondria and cell respiration. III. Bio­chemical studies on cell respiration of the rat liver in carbon tetra-chloride poisoning

In connection with the cloudy swelling of the liver cell seen in the CCl4 intoxication the author observed the oxygen consumption rate of the liver slices at frequent intervals within 20 hours of CCl4 intoxication in rats. Unexpectedly, the oxygen consumption did not decrease by CCl4, intoxication in the stage where the cloudy swelling can be seen, especially in the media added with succinate. This finding suggests that the energy produced by respiration is not concerned with the swelling phenomenon in the case of CCl4 intoxication, differing from the supposition on the experiment of protozoa by using cyanide and others.</p

Morphology of mitochondria and cell respiration,pt.2.

With the purpose to elucidate the relation between the enzyme activity and the morphology of mitochondria the author carried out histochemical and biochemical investigations of cytochrome oxidase and succinic dehydrogenase activities of liver cells obtained at various intervals after the oral administration of CCl4, to male rats. And the data were compared with those reported in the first report. In the normal liver histochemically demonstrable cytochrome c oxidase activity and succinic dehydrogenase activity can be seen in parenchymal cells. In both cases the cells lying in the peripheral area show a more intense activities than those in the central part of liver lobules. The activity of cytochrome c oxidase falls markedly 5 to 6 hours after the CCl4, administration, while the activity of succinic dehydrogenase is retained almost at normal level for about 20 hours. Quantitative estimation of the succinic dehydrogenase activity of tissue homogenate revealed a transient rise in the activity 90 minutes after the CCl4, administration, and thereafter the values have been kept in almost normal level by 20 hours though a gradually fall has been seen in this period with a marked degree at 22nd hour. Taking the changes of minute structure occurring at each stage into consideration, which have been reported in the previous paper, the author concludes that the activity of succinic dehydrogenase is closely correlated with the maintenance of double membraneous structure of mitochondria, but the activity of cytochrome c oxidase is reduced by the swelling of mitochondria.</p

Microdetermination of parathions by thermo- and ultra-violet decomposition products

By means of the thin layer chromatography (TLC) a study was carried out on the decomposition of methyl parathion, ethyl parathion and sumithion when exposed to heat or ultra-violet irradiation. The results are briefly summarized as follows. 1. Parathions, when exposed to heat, form hydrolysates and such 0-analog as paraoxon as well as S-alky1 isomers. 2. When parathions are exposed to ultra-violet rays at 365 m&#956; and 254 m&#956;, the rate of decomposition is extremely slow. For example, when exposed to such rays in Petri dish for 5 hours, only a small amount of S-alkyl isomer is formed. 3. After heating parathions in a small test tube and conducting TLC, when each 0-analog and S-alkyl isomer above mentioned is confirmed, it is possible to identify a minute amount of each parathion by this method, and thus this method is feasible to apply to practical poison examination as a rapid and simple qualitative examination method.</p

Post mortem activation of human blood fibrinolytic enzyme in sudden and natural deaths

With the purpose to elucidate the cause and difference of blood fluidity in sudden death and natural one, we have observed the fibrinolysis of the blood in medico-legal and pathological autopsies by means of Fibrin Plate Method, a routine method devised in our laboratory. As the result it has been found that in the blood serum of sudden death and in some of natural deaths from tumors, leukemias, etc., the decrease in fibrinolytic activity is equivalent to the amount of proactivator that combined with the SK-like substance liberated into blood. On the other hand, in the blood of most of natural deaths, and in that bled from vessels and stored in body cavities, no natural fibrinolysis is observable and the same fibrinolytic activity with SK as normal one is demonstrated. Thus it is concluded that the cause of blood fluidity in sudden death is due to the fibrinolysis.</p