Electron microscopic changes of the liver following exposure to organic arsenic

• Main Authors: Mohd Nazri, Liyana, Saharudin, Shahida, Afeez Adekunle, Ishola, A.Talib, Norlelawati, Muhammad, Siti Aeshah @ Naznin, Buyong, Zunariah, Mohamed, Rozilah @ Abdul Hadi, Myint, Yi Yi, Samsuddin, Niza, Abdul Ghani, Radiah, Abdullah, Nor Zamzila
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English; English
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: R Medicine (General)
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/83931/7/International%20conference%20-%202017%20-%20Poster%20IABS%20drzuna.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/83931/8/program%20book%20IABS%20-%202.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/83931/

BACKGROUND/AIM: There has been a growing concern over the toxicity of organic arsenic to the human body since recent studies indicated these compounds might be at least as toxic as inorganic arsenic. The liver is the primary site of metabolism of arsenic. Therefore it is highly susceptible to the adverse effects of both organic and inorganic arsenic. We aimed to identify any morphological changes in the liver associated with organic exposure on scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). METHODS: Our study employed monosodium methylarsonate (MSMA) to investigate the morphological changes of the liver on a scanning electron microscope following methylated organic arsenic exposure. A total of fifty-five male Sprague Dawley rats were divided into five groups (n=11) according to the dosage of MSMA given. The Control groups were given distilled water for 16 weeks and the treatment groups were treated with daily oral MSMA for the same period of time. The treatment groups were T1, T2, T3 and T4 and the treatment doses were 42.13, 63.20, 126.4 and 210 mg/kg body weight respectively. Individuals from groups T3 and T4 experienced severe diarrhea and drastic weight reduction, and therefore were discontinued from this study. At the end of week 16, the remaining rats were sacrificed and their liver tissues were harvested for SEM and TEM studies. RESULTS: SEM revealed an increase in the number of bulblike structures called blebs in a dose-dependent manner in treatment groups compared to the control group. There were also serpentine filopodia observed located near blebs in treatment groups but none of them were present in the control group. TEM revealed a reduction in the number of mitochondria and rough endoplasmic reticulum in treated groups compared to control rats. CONCLUSION: MSMA exposure caused apoptotic-related morphological changes in the hepatocytes on SEM and alterations in organelles on TEM.