Features of ultrastructural organization of hepatocytes in the Anglo-Nubian goat

Liver pathologies are among the most common animal diseases. Considering that the productivity of animals depends on the morphofunctional state of the liver, they are a serious problem for dairy and beef cattle breeding. Their development is primarily associated with structural changes in hepatocytes. The latter are epithelial parenchymal cells of the liver at the level of which all its basic functions are performed. At the same time, an accurate assessment of their condition can be carried out only on the basis of data concerning their ultrastructural organization, which are basic in identifying the mechanisms of development of liver pathologies. Considering the above, the goal was set to establish the features of the ultrastructural organization of the hepatocytes of the Anglo–Nubian goat breed. It has been established that, depending on the number of organelles and inclusions in the cytoplasm that determine the optical density of cells, two morphological types of hepatocytes can be distinguished in the Anglo-Nubian goat breed – dark and light. Dark hepatocytes in the cytoplasm contain a more developed synthetic apparatus and many inclusions. Unlike light ones, they have a more developed synthetic apparatus and are localized mainly along the periphery of the liver lobules. In turn, light hepatocytes lie in the center of the hepatic lobule, surrounding its central vein and have a larger size. Their cytoplasm contains fewer organelles and inclusions, which causes their lower optical density, and their mitochondria have a larger size and a darker optically dark matrix, riddled with many thin and short crystals. At the same time, there are no pronounced differences between dark and light hepatocytes in the set of organelles and in the ultrastructural organization of the nuclei.