Influence of vitamin E and coenzyme Q10 on the proliferation and morphological pattern of hepatocytes in piglets

The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of coenzyme Q10 and vitamin E on the morphological pattern and proliferation of the liver cells in piglets. The study was conducted on 40 piglets at the age of 10 weeks. Group I (control)-did not receive any substances, gr. II-received CoQ10 (120mg/animal/day) orally, gr. III-CoQ10 and vitamin E (0.15g/animal/day) intramuscularly, gr. IV-only vitamin E. CoQ10 and vitamin E supplementation was followed by 13 days of study. The levels of both substances in the plasma were determined by HPLC. The piglets were slaughtered on the 14(th) day of the experiment. The assessment of the liver morphological pattern was conducted using histopathological methods; PCNA expression in hepatocytes was examined by means of immunohistochemistry; SDH and LDH activity by histochemistry. The results indicate that CoQ10 supplementation does not influence the morphological pattern of the hepatocytes, nonetheless administration of both vitamin E and CoQ10 or vitamin E alone has a beneficial effect on hepatocytes and hepatic lobule morphology. Coenzyme Q10 markedly increased the proliferation, of hepatocytes, but there were fewer PCNA-positive cells in the groups which received both CoQ10 and vitamin E. In contrast, vitamin E treatment reduced hepatocyte proliferation activity.