Damage and repair of the immature rat cerebellum after cis-dichlorodiammineplatinum II (cis-DDP) treatment. An ultrastructural study.

The aim of this electron microscopy study was to further investigate the effects of cis-dichlorodiammineplatinum (cis-DDP) on the cerebellum of the immature rat. Ten-day-old animals were treated with cis-DDP subcutaneously and killed after 1, 7, 15 or 21 days. On postinjection day 1, cis-DDP effects were evident mainly in the external granular layer, with nuclear damage in many dividing cells, while their cytoplasm appeared to be less affected. Some binucleate cells were also present. On the contrary, in postmitotic or more differentiated cells, only cytoplasmic alterations were found. At later stages (postinjection day 7), the frequency of damaged cells in the external granular layer decreased, but there was a cellular deficit in the internal granular layer. Many postmitotic neurons underwent coagulative necrosis. Finally (postinjection days 15 and 21), the cellular deficit was partly compensated for by "reactive" structures, e.g., glial cell fibers, which underwent hypertrophy after initial edema. Moreover, packing densities of Bergmann astrocytes and oligodendrocytes were higher.