Yonago Acta medica 1999;42:135–140
Crystalline Inclusions in Hepatocyte Mitochondria of a Patient with Porphyria Cutanea Tarda
Ryota Kashiwagi, Kinya Okamoto, Naoto Maeda, Yutaka Horie, Hironaka Kawasaki, Hitoshi Osatake* and Takao Inoué*
Second Department of Internal Medicine and *Second Department of Anatomy, Faculty of
Medicine, Tottori University, Yonago 683-0826 Japan
Intramitochondrial crystalline inclusions were found in hepatocytes of a patient with porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT). They were composed of parallel filamentous structures which measured approximately 12 nm in diameter. Each filament was separated from an adjacent filament by a space measuring approximately 5 nm. The mitochondria containing such inclusions were usually elongated and enlarged. It seemed likely that these changes are not particular in PCT, but indicate one reversible pathological finding in the liver.
Key words: intramitochondrial crystalline inclusions; liver; porphyria cutanea tarda; transmission electron microscopy
