Ultrastructural studies of hepatocyte cytoskeleton in experimental cholestasis by quick-freezing and deep-etching method.

The ultrastructural association between the cytoskeleton and other organelles was studied by the quick-freezing and deep-etching method in rats treated with alpha-naphthylisothiocyanate (ANIT), or phalloidin, and in rats with obstructive jaundice. Cytoplasmic filaments were classified by measuring their diameters, and actin filaments were identified by specific decoration with myosin subfragment 1 (S1). S1-positive actin filaments and S1-negative intermediate filaments (12-14 nm in diameter) were observed to form a three-dimensional network around bile canaliculi, and were more numerous than in controls, not only in phalloidin-treated rats and rats with obstructive jaundice, but also in ANIT-administered rats. In all cholestatic rats, vesicular structures were also more numerous than in controls in the pericanalicular regions, and were closely associated with the microfilaments and the intermediate filaments. Filaments of a new type were localized between the lamellae of rough-surfaced endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria, and between the lamellae of Golgi sacs and vesicles. Other thin filaments were also observed within the network of actin filaments. These filaments were 4-6 nm in diameter on replica membranes and were never decorated with S1. They were also directly connected with the canalicular membranes. Cytoskeletal components associated with membrane-bound organelles, including these new filaments, were suggested to be involved in the localization and migration of organelles.