Effect of 3 amino 1,2,4 triazole administration on the early CCl4-induced ultrastructural alterations in rat liver.

CCl4 administration to rats caused at 3 and 6 h intense effects on the liver-cell endoplasmic reticulum such as dilatation, disorganization, detachment of ribosomes, development of extensive areas of smooth component (SER) and formation of myelin figures. 3 Amino 1,2,4 triazole administration (AT) at 3 and 6 h led to the formation of round small vesicles from the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER), detachment of ribosomes, appearance of extensive areas of SER, appearance of elongated and distorted mitochondria with an increase in the number of peroxisomes. The administration of CCl4 to AT-pretreated animals led to a mutual cancellation of the effects on the RER, particularly remarkable at 3 h but still evident at 6 h; also, the formation of myelin figures was prevented. The other effects on cell ultrastructure exerted either by CCl4 or by AT were also observed with the combination of both chemicals. These observations reinforce the hypothesis about the need of either covalent binding of CCl4 metabolites to cellular constituents or lipid peroxidation, or both, in the origin of CCl4-induced alterations.