Biochemical, Histological, and Ultrastructural Studies of the Protective Role of Vitamin E on Cyclophosphamide-Induced Cardiotoxicity in Male Rats

Figure 1. Effect of vitamin E on body weights of male rats treated with cyclophosphamide (CP) for three months. Data presented as mean ± S.D (n = 10). a Significant difference from the compared control group (p ≤ 0.05).

Figure 2. Light micrographs by H&E-stained sections (a–d) (×400) and Toluidine blue semithin sections (e–h) (×1000) in the heart tissues of rats. a and e in the control; b and f in CP-treated rats; c and g in vitamin E-treated rats; d and h in CP + vitamin E-treated rats showing cardiac muscle fibers (m); oval centrally located nuclei (N); lipofuscin (L); separated myocardium (↑↑); pyknotic nuclei (n); karyolytic nuclei (**); (N); edema (*); regular striation of the myocardium (arrowhead); fibroblast (F); intercalated disc (I); mitochondria (M); and blood vessel (V).

Figure 3. (a,b): Electron micrographs of the heart tissues of a control rat showing cardiac cells with regular sarcomere (SR), glycogen (G), Z line (Z), convoluted intercalated discs (I), dense desmosomes (D), and mitochondria (M). ×10,000. (c–e) CP-treated rats showing disorientation of myofilaments (arrows), irregular nucleus (N) with dilated perinuclear cisternae, mitochondria (M), sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), dilation in between myofibril (arrowhead), glycogen (G), and the disarray of T tubule (T). ×12,000. (f,g) Vitamin E-treated rats showing sarcomere with normal striation (S), mitochondria (M), Z line (Z), sarcolemma (arrowhead), convoluted intercalated discs (I), desmosome (D), and glycogen (G). ×12,000; (h,i) CP + vitamin E-treated rats showing regular sarcomere patterns (S), mitochondria (M), sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), Z lines (Z), convoluted intercalated discs (I), desmosome (D), and glycogen (G). ×12,000.