Comparison of the effects of difenacoum and brodifacoum on the ultrastructure of rat liver cells

Abstract We used transmission electron microscopy to examine the cytotoxic effects of the second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides difenacoum and brodifacoum on rat liver. A single dose of difenacoum or brodifacoum was administered to rats by gastric gavage and liver samples were taken after 24 h, four days or seven days. In the livers of rats treated with difenacoum for 24 h, hepatocytes typically showed increased numbers of lysosomes, as well as enlargement of both the perinuclear space and the cisternae of the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER), while sinusoids were irregularly shaped and contained Kupffer cells. Similar irregularities occurred in brodifacoum-treated rats at the same time point, but additionally increased numbers of vacuoles, damaged mitochondrial cristae, and clumping of chromatin were observed in hepatocytes, and hemolysed erythrocytes were noted in the sinusoids. Comparable findings were made in each group of rats after four days. After seven days of difenacoum treatment, hepatocytes suffered loss of cytoplasmic material and mitochondrial shrinkage, while RER cisternae became discontinuous. In contrast, exposure to brodifacoum for seven days caused the formation of numerous vacuoles and lipid droplets, disordered mitochondrial morphology, chromatin clumping and invagination of the nuclear envelope in hepatocytes. Sinusoids in the livers of rodenticide-treated rats contained an accumulation of dense material, lipid droplets, cells with pycnotic nuclei and hemolysed erythrocytes. Overall, our results show that brodifacoum causes more severe effects in liver cells than difenacoum. Thus our microscopic data along with additional biochemical assays point to a severe effect of rodenticide on vertebrates.