QUANTITATIVE-ANALYSIS OF LIVER PEROXISOMES IN RATS INTOXICATED WITH PEROXISOMICINE-A(1)

Peroxisomes are single-membrane-bound organelles present in almost all eukaryotic cells. Hypolipidemic agents such as clofibrate, herbicides and plasticizers induce an increase in the number and size of peroxis omes from mammalian cells. However, there is no evidence of drugs caus ing a decrease in the number of these organelles. In this paper, we re port the effect in vivo of toxin T-514 extracted from the plant Karwin skia humboldtiana, now re-named peroxisomicine-A(1), on hepatic peroxi somes from rats intoxicated with this compound. Rats were treated with a single dose of 25 mg/kg of peroxisomicine-A(1) and at different tim es were killed by decapitation. For the peroxisomal counting, liver ti ssue sections from control and treated rats were processed for the loc alization of catalase in peroxisomes. The results of the quantitative analysis demonstrated a significant decrease in the number of liver pe roxisomes from rats intoxicated with peroxisomicine-A(1). This finding suggests that peroxisomicine-A(1) as in yeast, causes a damage to mam malian peroxisomes. The diminution in the number of peroxisomes could be a consequence of damage to the organeile, which is further removed by an autophagic process. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All r ights reserved.