The effects of acrylamide on the frequency of megakaryocytic emperipolesis and the mitotic activity of rat bone marrow cells

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Although the pathophysiological importance of emperipolesis is not known exactly, it has been reported to increase significantly in cases of various cancer types, different tumours and thrombosis disorders. In this study the effects of acrylamide on the frequency of megakaryocytic emperipolesis and the mitotic activity in rat bone marrow cells were determined. For this purpose, two separate experiments were performed with Sprague-Dawley rats gavaged with 0, 30, 45 and 60 mg acrylamide kg⁻¹ body weight (BW) for five consecutive days. In the second experiment, 3 mg colchicine kg⁻¹ BW was injected intraperitoneally 2 h before cervical dislocation. Bone marrow samples were taken 24 h after the last application in both experiments. RESULTS: It was found that only the highest dose of acrylamide significantly decreased the incidence of megakaryocytic emperipolesis and that the types of bone marrow cells engulfed by megakaryocytes were mostly neutrophil granulocytes. Neither megakaryocytes nor engulfed cells showed any morphological degeneration. In the mitotic activity experiment, doses of 45 and 60 mg acrylamide kg⁻¹ BW decreased the mitotic activity of bone marrow cells in comparison with the control group. CONCLUSION: It was concluded that the decrease in megakaryocytic emperipolesis frequency might be a consequence of the decrease in mitotic activity in bone marrow cells.