US EPA

8170100 

Journal Article 

Ultrastructural effects of manganese deficiency in liver, heart, kidney, and pancreas of mice 

Theriault Bell, L; Hurley, LS 

1973 

1 

Laboratory Investigation
ISSN: 0023-6837
EISSN: 1530-0307 

29 

6 

723-736 

English 

The effects of a dietary deficiency of manganese on cell ultrastructure were investigated in mice. The female offspring of female hybrid mice given a manganese deficient diet during pregnancy were also fed the deficient diet until they were killed for study. Controls receiving adequate manganese were treated the same way. Liver tissue was taken at 6 and 12 months of age and examined histochemically for various enzymes and the presence of lipid. Liver was examined by electron microscopy in mice of 6, 8, 12, and 18 months of age. Pancreas, kidney and heart tissues were examined only at 18 months of age. A dietary deficiency of manganese caused changes in the classic ultrastructural parameters of the cell types examined. All manganese deficient tissues observed showed alterations in the integrity of their cell membranes. In addition, the endoplasmic reticulum was swollen and irregular in all tissues from deficient animals. Mitochondria were found with elongated stacked cristae in liver, heart, and kidney cells. There was an overabundance of lipid in liver parenchymal and kidney tubule cells. It is possible that the lowered oxidation previously observed biochemically in liver mitochondria from manganese deficient animals is related to the morphologic changes reported here.