Hepatic stellate cells in the liver of dogs with steroid-induced hepatopathy

Morphological lesions in hepatic stellate cells caused by the immunosuppressive doses of dexamethasone were investigated in dogs. The archival samples of liver collected during a surgical biopsy were examined. The samples were fixed in 10% buffered formalin or Carnoy’s solution and then stained with routine histochemical methods. The lesions were also investigated under electron microscope. It was demonstrated that the number of stellate cells significantly increased (P = 0.0277), yet the size of cytoplasmic lipid droplets significantly decreased (P = 0.0001). Even though steroid-induced hepatopathy is considered to be a reversible pathology, and the lesions in hepatocytes under the influence of dexamethasone occur in a short period, it was found that hepatic stellate cells proliferated and underwent activation. This resulted in collagen accumulation in the hepatic sinuses. The functional and morphological disturbances in the canine liver in the course of steroid-induced hepatopathy are initially subclinical, but the changes in the structure and function of hepatic stellate cells may become a cause of lesions in the wall of hepatic sinusoidal vessels, which may induce additional functional pathologies unrelated to the damage to hepatocytes.