Age-dependent changes of the protein synthetic machinery of liver cell cytoplasm as revealed by electron microscopic...

Complete electron microscopic morphometric explorations of the liver were carry out in groups of 5 each young, adult and old female Wistar rats. In addition, livers were studied 1, 5, 10, 20 days after 2/3 hepatectomy in old rats. Characteristic age-dependent change: Decrease of the surface density of total endoplasmic reticulums between 1 and 12--27 months of age. After the partial hepatectomy the regenerated old liver "shows a certain" rejuvenation. The results suggest the validity of the theory of accumulation of somatic mutations during aging.