title: Bismuth tracing in organotypic cultures of rat hippocampus.
abstract: Bismuth is known to have neurotoxic side effects in humans and animals. In the 1970s France experienced about a thousand cases of patients suffering from bismuth-induced encephalopathy. Studies suggest that bismuth may provoke a selective degeneration of CA1 pyramidal cells in the organotypic cultures of rat hippocampus. A currently established technique for the histochemical visualization of bismuth was applied on hippocampal tissue cultures allowing the tracing of bismuth in concentrations hitherto not possible. The accumulation and subcellular localization of bismuth is demonstrated in the tissue cultures of rat hippocampus. CA1 pyramidal cells in the rat hippocampus exhibit the highest uptake of bismuth. High bismuth citrate concentrations (10 microM) are able to totally destroy the cytoarchitecture of the hippocampus. At ultrastructural levels bismuth was found to be located exclusively in lysosome-like organelles.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Institute of Anatomy, University of Aarhus, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
authors.forename: Linda J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Locht
authors.forename: Lene
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Munkøe
authors.forename: Meredin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stoltenberg
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001729:Bismuth / Q000032:analysis* / Q000494:pharmacology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D006651:Histocytochemistry / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D008247:Lysosomes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008854:Microscopy, Electron / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D009410:Nerve Degeneration / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology; D009474:Neurons / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects / Q000648:ultrastructure; D020258:Neurotoxicity Syndromes / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D051381:Rats; D016622:Silver Staining / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D014116:Toxicology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D001729:Bismuth