Effect of aminoguanidine on chick embryonic liver during organ culture

The addition of 10(-3) M aminoguanidine to culture medium caused no significant effect on the ultrastructure of cytoplasmic organellae in chick embryonic liver cells during organ culture but produced unique alterations in the nucleolar ultrastructure, such as increased density of protein matrix, increase of granular components, and fragmentation of nucleolar constituents. A high dose of aminoguanidine led the cultured liver cells to necrosis. Aminoguanidine also inhibited RNA synthesis rather than DNA synthesis in the cells. These results suggest that this agent may induce primary inhibition of RNA synthesis accompanied with significant changes of nucleolar structure in chick embryonic liver cells.