Brain Ag-NOR activity in cholestatic rats with hepatic encephalopathy

The serious repercussions of cholestasis in the liver and other organic systems have led to the creation of many experimental models in efforts to understand better its pathogenesis, prophylaxis and treatment. The extrahepatic cholestasis produces an encephalopathy by the deposition of neurotoxins in the brain similar to alcoholic and other hepatic encephalopathies. This work was designed to assess the effects of cholestasis and hepatic encephalopathy on argyrophilic nucleolar organiser region (Ag-NOR) activity in the hippocampus and inferotemporal cortex (INF). Twenty-eight male Wistar rats were used and the parameters evaluated were the area of nucleus, the area of Ag-NORs, the number of Ag-NORs per cell and the ratio of the area of Ag-NORs to that of the nucleus. The results show that cholestasis decreased neuronal synthetic activity significantly and affected the nuclear cytoarchitecture in the hippocampus and the INF.