Perfluorochemicals. Morphologic changes in infused liver, spleen, lung, and kidney of rabbits

Perfluorochemicals have been shown to have a high affinity for oxygen and therefore, have potential use in circumstances in which conventional blood transfusions are not possible. We examined by light and electron microscopy (EM) histologic changes in liver, spleen, lung, and kidney of rabbits each infused with 20 to 40 mL of perfluorotributylamine or with lactated Ringer's solution (controls). Rabbits were killed at 1, 2, and 3 weeks after infusion. Spleen and liver showed the most marked alterations. Spleen architecture was distorted with focal infiltration by foamy macrophages. The EM showed macrophages containing small and large, membrane-bound vacuoles. In the liver, Kupffer's cells were enlarged with eccentric nuclei and vacuolated cytoplasm. Hepatocytes contained occasional perfluorochemical particles. In the lung, intimal cells were swollen in the muscular arteries. While in alveolar septae, perfluorochemical particles could be identified ultrastructurally in the alveolar phagocytes and in the endothelium of capillaries. Kidney changes were more subtle, with occasional foam cells seen within the mesangium. The number of vacuoles did not decrease with time in any of the organs examined. Therefore, perfluorotributylamine particles are retained in vital organs; what effects these particles may have on normal tissue function need further evaluation.