title: Effects of hypertension and ovariectomy on rat hepatocytes. Are amlodipine and lacidipine protective? (A stereological and histological study).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Calcium channel blockers are increasingly used for the treatment of hypertension. Menopause and hypertension are both important risk factors for liver damage and several other circulatory abnormalities. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of amlodipine and lacidipine in an ovariectomy-induced postmenopausal period model and a deoxycorticosterone acetate-salt-induced hypertensive model in rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this study, animals were divided into six groups as follows: control (Group 1), hypertension (Group 2), ovariectomy (Group 3), ovariectomy and hypertension (Group 4), ovariectomy, hypertension and amlodipine-treated (Group 5), and ovariectomy, hypertension and lacidipine-treated (Group 6). At the end of the experiment, the livers were removed and tissue samples were histologically and stereologically examined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The numerical densities of the hepatocytes according to group were 0.000422, 0.00329, 0.000272, 0.00259, 0.00374 and 0.000346 μm3, respectively. Significant differences were found between values of all groups (p<0.01, Mann-Whitney U test). According to histopathological investigation, Group 3 and particularly Group 4 showed some microscopic abnormalities such as dilatation in sinusoids central veins and branches of portal vein, irregularities of the hepatocyte columns, significant mononuclear cell infiltrations, and unstained vacuoles in the cytoplasm of the hepatocytes. Histological structure was protected from the destructive effects of ovariectomy and hypertension in Groups 5 and 6.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our experimental results show that both hypertension and the postmenopausal period have negative effects on the number of hepatocytes and histological structure of the liver. Both amlodipine and lacidipine appear to ameliorate the hypertension and/or postmenopausal period-related decrease in hepatocyte number. We thus suggest that lacidipine and particularly amlodipine have important protective and recovering effects on the liver.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Atatürk University, School of Medicine, Erzurum.
authors.forename: Hakan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dursun
authors.forename: Fatih
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Albayrak
authors.forename: Abdullah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Uyanik
authors.forename: Nuri Osman
authors.initials: NO
authors.lastname: Keleş
authors.forename: Polat
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Beyzagül
authors.forename: Ednan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bayram
authors.forename: Zekai
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Halici
authors.forename: Zuhal Berrin
authors.initials: ZB
authors.lastname: Altunkaynak
authors.forename: Halis
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Süleyman
authors.forename: Nihat
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Okçu
authors.forename: Bünyamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ünal
mesh_terms: D017311:Amlodipine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000494:pharmacology; D019610:Cytoprotection / Q000187:drug effects; D004095:Dihydropyridines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D010052:Ovariectomy; D017698:Postmenopause; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
chemical_list: D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D004095:Dihydropyridines; D017311:Amlodipine; C060285:lacidipine