Chlordecone-induced potentiation of carbon tetrachloride hepatotoxicity: a morphometric and biochemical study

The present study, conducted over a time course of 36 hr after CCl4 administration, describes sequential morphometric and biochemical changes which occur in livers of rats exposed to a combination of low levels of chlordecone (10 ppm for 15 days) and a single ip injection of CCl4 (0.1 ml/kg). Those changes were compared to hepatic alterations which occur in rats that received the same dose of chlordecone or CCl4 alone. Biochemical studies showed only trivial increases in levels of glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (GPT), glutamic-oxalacetic transaminase (GOT), and moderate but temporary increases in isocitrate dehydrogenase (ICD) after CCl4 alone. The combination of chlordecone and CCl4 resulted in significantly greater elevations of all three serum enzymes at all time intervals examined. Morphometric data showed no difference between normal diet controls and animals exposed to chlordecone alone as far as numerical density of hepatocytes or volume densities of hepatocytes with glycogen, lipid, dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER), pyknosis, or mitoses. Morphometric analysis of livers from animals that received CCl4 alone showed decreases in numerical density, temporary decrease in percentage of hepatocytes containing glycogen, an increase in hepatocytes containing lipid, temporary increase in hepatocytes with dilated RER, and temporary increases in pyknotic nuclei. Soon after the initial hepatic injury was histologically evident between 4 and 6 hr, the number of mitoses increased dramatically and this progressed until complete recovery from CCl4 damage. From all indices of damage, complete recovery was evident by 36 hr after CCl4 administration.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)