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Cellular and matrix changes in drug abuser liver sinusoids: a semiquantitative and morphometric ultrastructural study
M S Trigueiro de Araújo1, F Gérard, P Chossegros
1Laboratoire de Pathologie Cellulaire, Institut Pasteur CNRS URA 1459, Lyon, France.
Virchows Archiv. A, Pathological Anatomy and Histopathology
|January 1, 1993
Summary
Heroin use causes significant ultrastructural changes in liver sinusoids, including wall thickening and fibrosis. These changes may protect the liver from toxicity despite hindering nutrient exchange.
Area of Science:
- Hepatology
- Toxicology
- Electron Microscopy
Background:
- Intravenous drug abuse is associated with liver damage.
- Heroin's specific impact on liver ultrastructure requires detailed investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the ultrastructural effects of heroin on liver sinusoids.
- To compare liver sinusoids in heroin abusers with healthy controls.
Main Methods:
- Electron microscopy of liver biopsies from five intravenous drug abusers and three controls.
- Ultrastructural analysis of 150 centrilobular sinusoids from abusers and 90 from controls.
- Morphometric assessment of sinusoidal wall components.
Main Results:
- Significant thickening of the sinusoidal wall due to endothelial cell hypertrophy and fibrosis in the space of Disse.
- Presence of basement-membrane-like material and flattened hepatocyte microvilli.
- Constant hepatic vascular pole changes, interhepatocyte disjunction, and perisinusoidal collagenization in abusers.
- Increased sinusoidal wall surface, endothelial cell, and Ito cell process surface in abusers.
Conclusions:
- Heroin induces significant ultrastructural alterations in liver sinusoids, characterized by cellular hypertrophy and fibrosis.
- These changes suggest a hyperactivated sinusoidal cell function potentially leading to fibrogenesis.
- The observed structural modifications may act as a protective barrier against heroin toxicity, albeit potentially impairing exchange functions.