Hepatic pseudocapillarization in aged mice.

Age-related changes in the hepatic sinusoid of the rat, human and baboons called pseudocapillarization have been discovered and are important because they are considered to be implicated in the pathogenesis of some age-related diseases. In this study, we investigated whether similar changes occur in the livers of old mice. Livers of young (3-4 months) and old (20-24 months) mice were perfusion-fixed and studied using electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry. The thickness of the sinusoidal endothelium was increased in old mice (154+/-4 versus 244+/-8 nm, P<0.001). There was a reduction in fenestrations within the endothelium (porosity decreased from 4.1+/-0.3 to 2.2+/-0.2%, P<0.001). There was perisinusoidal staining with Sirius red in old mice, however, expression of laminin and von Willebrands factor was similar in young and old mice. Novel perisinusoidal fat-engorged stellate cells were found extensively in the old mice. This study confirmed that pseudocapillarization is a widespread aging change in the liver, now documented in several species including the mouse. Mice are an appropriate animal model for studying aging and the hepatic sinusoid.