The Liver Cells in Acute Starvation and Refeeding

Abstract

A series of 52 young male white laboratory mice were starved for a maximum of five days, and 45 normally fed animals were used as controls. A group of experimental animals and a corresponding control group were sacrificed after two, three, and four days' starvation and after six, 12 and 17 days' refeeding. Even after two days the animals had lost weight, and the liver cells had diminished highly significantly. A return to the initial values was noted after 12 days' refeeding. In the experimental animals a strong negative correlation was noted between the cell count per field and body weight (r =–0.712, b =–7.520), while no such correlation was observed for the controls. The volume of the liver cells was reduced by 61.7 %, the volume of their nuclei by 16.2 % after four days' starvation. After two to three days' starvation the liver cells often showed a slight accumulation of fat. Mitoses were frequent in the liver cells during the stage of regeneration, when the cells had attained the same size as in the controls.

Sammanfattning

Undersökningen omfattade 52 unga vita hanmöss, som frånhölls foder i 5 dagar. Som kontroller användes 45 normalt utfodrade djur. En grupp vardera försöks- och kontrolldjur avlivades efter resp. 2, 3 och 4 dagars svält och efter 6, 12 och 17 dagars återutfodring. Redan efter 2 dagar hade svältdjurens vikt och levercell-storleken minskats starkt signifikant, för att återkomma till de ursprungliga värdena efter 12 dagars återutfodring. Hos svältdjur konstaterades en starkt negativ korrelation mellan antalet leverceller per mikroskop-fält och djurens vikt (r = —0,721, b = —7,520). Kontrolldjuren visade ingen motsvarande korrelation. Levercellvolymen minskade 61,7 % och kärnornas volym 16,2 % under 4 dagars svält. Efter 2 och 3 dagars svält kunde ofta en förfettning i levercellerna ses. Under regenerationsfasen var mitoserna rikliga vid den tidpunkt, då levercellerna hade återfått kontrollernas storlek.