Quantitative electron microscopic study of the hepatic endoplasmic reticulum in Reye’s syndrome

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Reye’s syndrome represents a serious clinical condition in children with symptoms of liver involvement, acute encephalopathy and biochemical alterations. This condition, for which the etiology is not yet known, has been linked to mycotoxin poisoning, viral infection, or simulated by drug toxicity, particularly salicylates. However, basic cellular mechanisms and early ultrastructural changes have not been well defined. The liver endoplasmic reticulum (ER) plays a fundamental role in detoxification. Our understanding of ER changes in this syndrome would clarify the processes leading to liver damage. Quantitative electron microscopic aspects of hepatocytes were evaluated to characterize numerically the tissue changes in liver biopsies from patients with Reye's syndrome and compared with data available from age-matched controls. Liver biopsies were evaluated from three patients, 1.5, 6.5 and 13.5 years of age, having clinical and pathological evidence of Reye's syndrome. All biopsies were obtained within 24 hours of clinical onset. Preservation of architecture of hepatocytes was adequate for critical evaluation of ultrastructure.