Qualitative and quantitative ultrastructural alterations in hepatocytes of rats prenatally exposed to ethanol with special reference to mitochondria, golgi apparatus and peroxisomes.

To assess the effect of ethanol on the liver of the offspring of alcohol-fed rats, the hepatocytes of newborn rats whose mothers were fed: a) a liquid diet containing alcohol, b) the same diet isocalorically balanced, or c) a chow diet, were analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative electron microscopy as well as cytophotometric and biochemical methods. Hepatocytes of chow-fed and pair-fed controls showed differences in the amounts of glycogen and lipids as well as in several stereologically measured variables including mitochondria, Golgi apparatus and smooth endoplasmic reticulum. These differences are probably due to the composition of the diet. Rats prenatally exposed to alcohol showed increases in the hepatocyte and mitochondria volumes and in the number of peroxisomes. Moreover, the Golgi apparatus of these cells appeared disorganized and composed exclusively of small size vesicles, suggesting an impairment of their function.