In vivo magnetic resonance imaging study of Kupffer cell involvement in CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity in rats

When carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) was administered to rats, a localized region of hepatic edema could be detected within 1 h by in vivo proton magnetic resonance imaging. However, if rats were pretreated with gadolinium chloride (GdCl3), an inhibitor of Kupffer cell function, the CCl4-induced edema was greatly decreased. Methyl palmitate, another Kupffer cell inhibitor, also decreased the degree of edema caused by the administration of CCl4. Electron micrographs of samples that were taken from regions of the liver where the edema was localized indicated formation of vacuoles and lipid droplets in parenchymal cells and enlargement of Kupffer cells, which exhibited numerous phagosomes and extensive pseudopod formation. These electron micrograph changes were also attenuated by pretreatment of the rats with GdCl3 and methyl palmitate. In vivo spin trapping and electron paramagnetic resonance experiments indicated that GdCl3 did not affect the metabolism of CCl4 to the trichloromethyl radical. The data in this report suggest that localized hepatic edema which occurs soon after administration of CCl4 involves activation of Kupffer cells, and that trichloromethyl radical production may be a separate but related process occurring in parenchymal cells. These observations support reports from other laboratories that Kupffer cells may be involved in CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity.Key words: carbon tetrachloride, hepatotoxicity, magnetic resonance imaging, gadolinium chloride, Kupffer cells.