Biochemical and ultrastructural changes in teleost liver following subacute exposure to PCB.

The response of the channel catfish liver to subacute exposure of polychlorinated biphenyls was evaluated using electron microscopic and biochemical techniques. After 21 days, treated fish displayed elevated microsomal enzyme activities. Morphologically, the liver produced several patterns of alteration involving the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Structural alterations included an increase in tubular smooth ER, production of parallel stacks of smooth ER showing continuity with rough ER, and membranous whorls. Biochemical and morphologic findings were correlated in exposed livers, and the relationship of these findings to similar studies in other species of fish is discussed.