Prednisolone and Glucose-6-phosphatase Activity in Liver Cells

ABSTRACT

Prednisolone, a cortisol analogue, was given intraperitoneally to rats with 5, 10 or 15 doses of 5 mg. per kg. of body weight per day. Sacrificing the animals 24 hours after the last injection, unfixed frozen sections from small pieces of liver tissue were incubated and stained by a modification from the method of Wachstein and Meisel(1965) for glucose-6-phosphatase (G-6-Pase) activity. Some of the tissue blocks were processed for staining with hematoxylin and eosin for histopathological observation. Glucose-6-phosphatase activity, being represented histochemically by brownish-black deposits, was progressively increased after administrations 5 or 10 times. With 15 doses of prednisolone the general histochemical picture of G-6-Pase activity appeared to be similar to that of the control group, except for a different distribution of hepatocytes possessing strong activity. In prednisolone treated rats, the swollen hepatocytes showed a marked, cytoplasmic vacuolization and nuclear pyknosis, particularly in the periportal and midzonal areas of hepatic lobules. Some discussion of the G-6-Pase corticosteroids are presented in terms of their metabolic effects.