Connective tissue responses to some heavy metals. III. Silver and dietary supplements of ascorbic acid. Histology and ultrastructure.

Silver-loaded ion exchange resin beads implanted into loose connective tissue of the rat pinna produced a local reaction. Initially the lesion comprised local necrosis and tissue disruption with predominantly small round cell infiltration. The subsequent organization was delayed and disordered. Fibroblasts developed grossly dilated cisternae of the rough endoplasmic reticulum. The matrix contained poorly orientated collagen fibrils of varying size and ground substance appeared condensed and granular. Distorted collagen fibrils were identified within membrane-bound vacuoles in the cytoplasm of both fibroblasts and macrophages. Abnormalities of the silver lesion were indicative of disordered collagen biosynthesis. Silver interfered with the biosynthesis and assembly of matrix components of the connective tissue. The reaction to silver beads in rats maintained on a diet heavily supplemented with ascorbic acid approached that of the control (sodium-loaded bead) with respect to the time scale, tissue reaction and tissue organization. The collagen matrix which formed was more organized and of greater density than that in the rat maintained on a normal diet. However, the repair tissue retained some of the morphological features of the legacy of silver toxicity, in particular delayed repair and dense intracellular fibrils within fibroblasts and macrophages. The excess of ascorbic acid partially ameliorated the effect of silver, possibly by compensating catabolysis of ascorbic acid caused by the presence of the released silver.