The Changes In Cell Cycle Of Rat Hepatocytes During Aging

Sophio Giorgadze, Rususdan Rukhadze, Diana Dzidziguri

Department of Histology, Cytology and Embryology, Tbilisi State Medical University, Georgia

The resilence of the liver to aging makes it an intriguing target for investigation. Whether aging enhances apoptosis in liver is still controversial. The effect of age on hepatocyte turn-over in male rats (newborns, young, adult and senescent) in vivo was studied. Number of apoptotic, diploid, tetraploid and poliploid nuclei was counted by a Becton Dickinson (Mountain Vieu, CA) FACSscan flow cytometer. It has been considered, that aging influences the distribution of hepatocyte DNA into cell cycle, increases the susceptibility of hepatocytes to apoptosis and inhibits the total proliferative activity of liver cells.

Keywords:  hepatocyte, cell cycle, apoptosis, aging