Ml. Pereira et al., CHROMIUM ACCUMULATION AND ULTRASTRUCTURAL-CHANGES IN THE MOUSE-LIVER CAUSED BY STAINLESS-STEEL CORROSION PRODUCTS, Journal of materials science. Materials in medicine, 6(9), 1995, pp. 523-527
Stainless steel (SS) corrosion products were obtained by electrochemic
al dissolution of SS type AISI 316L. Mice were injected subcutaneously
with 0.5 mi of SS solution (containing 283 mu g Re, 69.3 mu g Cr and
57 mu g Ni) each 72 h, for 10 days or 14 days. After the treatment tim
e, livers were removed and were analysed for: (a) liver wet weight; (b
) contents in Fe, Cr and Ni; (c) histological and ultrastructural alte
rations. Results showed that the percentage of liver weight per animal
body weight was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in SS-injected animal
s than in the control animals. The atomic absorption spectrometry anal
ysis of dry livers showed that chromium, but not iron or nickel, had a
significant increase (p < 0.05) in SS-treated mice compared to the co
ntrol animals. No histopathological differences between 10 and 14 days
of SS-injection could be detected, however, massive hepatic degenerat
ion was observed in both groups when compared to the control. These hi
stological changes in SS-treated mice were confirmed at the ultrastruc
tural level, as hepatocytes exhibited an augmentation of vacuoles in t
heir cytoplasm. These actual liver morphological alterations suggest t
hat the hepatocyte function may be hampered, which constitutes a matte
r of some concern since liver is a blood filtering organ.