Development of hepatocytes in nase (Chondrostoma nasus (L.)) larvae following hatch

Abstract

The development of the nase liver was examined under light and electron microscopes from the moment of hatching until the juvenile stage. Three phases of hepatocyte differentiation were observed during the organogenesis of nase livers. In the first phase, from hatching until day 4, the hepatoblasts of the primordial liver are morphologically undifferentiated and divided by sinus vessels. They also store glycogen. In the second phase, from the moment when the mouth cavity becomes passable until the resorption of the yolk sac, organelles typical of the structure of hepatocytes appear and begin to function. At the end of this phase signs of bile lipid synthesis and secretion become visible. The third phase is when exogenous nutrition begins and is characterized by the increased activity of the significant organelles engaged in protein synthesis and secretion, such as the endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi apparatus.

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR:

Teresa Ostaszewska, Szkoła Główna Gospodarstwa Wiejskiego, Wydział Nauk o Zwierzętach, Pracownia Ichtiobiologii i Rybactwa, ul. Ciszewskiego 8, 02-786 Warszawa, tel. +48 22 8530937;
e-mail: ostaszewska@alpha.sggw.waw.pl