Structural reorganization of the rat liver under cytotoxic effect of doxorubicin

We studied structural reorganization of the liver after toxic injury caused by a single injection of doxorubicin in a sublethal dose (10 mg/kg). The morphogenesis of doxorubicin injury to the liver is determined by two main pathogenetic factors: cytotoxic effect of doxorubicin and its metabolites on liver cell populations (primarily hepatocytes) and pronounced hemodynamic disorders in the greater circulation resulting from the development of chronic cardiac insufficiency. Changes in hepatocyte caused by doxorubicin manifest by fatty degeneration in the periportal zones and by pronounced lytic changes in the pericentral zones, most pronounced by day 30 of the experiment. Doxorubicin in the studied dose exhibited no cytostatic effect on the hepatocyte population. Hepatocyte proliferation, observed during the entire experiment, leads to an appreciable increase in their count and liver weight.