Chediak-Higashi syndrome in rats: light and electron microscopical characterization of abnormal granules in beige rats.

Chediak-Higashi syndrome (CHS) is a rare disease occurring in several animal species. Recently, mutant beige rats with CHS were found among DA strain rats in Japan. In the present study, histological examination of beige rats revealed giant granules in the hepatocytes, renal proximal tubules, submandibular ducts, thyroid follicular cells, granulocytes, mast cells, melanocytes, retinal pigment epithelial cells and globular leucocytes. Ultrastructurally, these granules varied from enlarged lysosomes, which were amorphous, granular or filamentous, to giant mast cell granules, crystalloid granules of eosinophils and slightly enlarged neutrophil granules. These findings bore many similarities to those in the beige mouse, which is a well known animal model for CHS, but some differences were apparent. Thus the giant granules of beige rats were larger and more easy to observe than those in beige mice. The study indicated that the beige rat may prove useful as an animal model for CHS.