Morphometric analysis of cultured hepatocytes exposed to benoxaprofen

This study was undertaken to quantitate morphological changes in primary cultures of liver cells exposed to benoxaprofen and to compare morphological assessments with standard assessments of functional integrity. Rat hepatocytes were exposed for 12 h to 0, 100, 500, or 1000 microM concentrations of benoxaprofen and subjected to double-blind morphometric analysis. As benoxaprofen concentration was increased from 0 to 1000 microM, the relative percentage of morphologically normal cells was reduced, whereas the percentages of damaged cell types increased. These results paralleled those obtained from functional assessments. Therefore, the use of morphometric techniques provided a good assessment of benoxaprofen-induced cytotoxicity and demonstrated the value of quantitative estimates in the evaluation of cellular injury.