Hexachlorobenzene-induced
porphyria is
iron dependent and characterized by the decreased activity of
uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase and the accumulation of
porphyrins in the liver. To examine the relationship between
iron and
porphyrins in liver tissue, we performed a biochemical and morphological (histological, ultrastructural and morphometrical) study in the livers of C57BL/10 mice. Mice were treated with
hexachlorobenzene,
iron dextran or the combination of
hexachlorobenzene and
iron dextran. An accumulation of
porphyrins and an increased total
iron content were found not only in the livers of mice treated with
hexachlorobenzene and
iron dextran but also in mice treated with
iron dextran alone. In contrast, the amount of
porphyrins was only slightly increased in the livers of mice treated with
hexachlorobenzene alone. Needle-like structures, representing uroporphyrin crystals, were observed, histologically and ultrastructurally, in hepatocytes of mice treated with
hexachlorobenzene and
iron dextran and with
iron dextran alone. Uroporphyrin crystals and
ferritin iron were found in the same hepatocyte. A single uroporphyrin crystal, surrounded by
ferritin iron, was observed in a hepatocyte of a mouse treated with
hexachlorobenzene alone. Both in the livers of mice treated with
hexachlorobenzene and
iron dextran and in the livers of mice treated with
iron dextran alone, morphometrical analysis showed that an increased area fraction of uroporphyrin crystals was associated with an increased area fraction of
ferritin iron in hepatocytes.
CONCLUSIONS: