Skip to main content
. 2023 Feb 4;13:2025. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-28666-1

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Renal proximal tubular changes in MRI contrast agent-treated female mice. (a) Renal proximal tubular cell of untreated female, showing a normal dense brush border and histologically-normal round nuclei. Calibration bar = 10 µm. (b) Ruptured basement membrane of a renal proximal tubular tubule in a MRI contrast agent-treated female. Calibration bar = 10 µm. (c) Proximal tubules contained many lipid-laden vacuoles with electron-dense borders, dysmorphic mitochondria, and increased cytoplasmic vacuoles (many with lipid-like bodies and electron-dense precipitates). Calibration bar = 2 µm. (d) Proximal tubule harboring a large, toxic mitochondrion (arrow), lipid-laden vacuoles (often rimmed with electron-dense material), from a MRI contrast agent-treated female. Calibration bar = 2 µm. (e) Spiculated, sea urchin-shaped electron densities adjacent to a lipid droplet outside the brush border of a renal proximal tubule. Calibration bar = 1 µm. (f) Renal proximal tubules with atypical nuclei, lipid-laden vacuoles (again, rimmed with electron-dense material), from a MRI contrast agent-treated female. Calibration bar = 10 µm. (g) Magnification of brush border from (f). Note the large lipid droplets and electron-dense nanostructures. Bar = 5 µm. (h) Magnified region from (g), highlighting electron densities surrounding lipid droplets and mitochondria. Calibration bar = 1 µm. (i) Increased cytoplasmic vacuolation within the renal proximal tubule and bloated mitochondria from a gadolinium-treated female. Calibration bar = 5 µm. (j) Mitochondriopathy (arrows), characterized by matrix expansion and cristae loss in the renal proximal tubule from a treated female. The cell also contains vacuolized lipid concomitant with electron-dense nanoparticles. Calibration bar = 5 µm. (k) Unilamellar vesicles within renal epithelium from gadolinium-treated animals frequently are rimmed with electron-dense material and sometimes coincide with sea urchin-appearing, spiculated nanostructures. Calibration bar = 2 µm. (I) Proximal tubule cells with large cytoplasmic vesicles containing lipid and electron-dense precipitates. Also featured is an increase in interstitial cellularity from a gadolinium-treated female. Calibration bar = 10 µm. (m) Magnification of the complex cytoplasmic vacuole in (l). The arrows indicate mitochondriopathy. Calibration bar = 2.0 µm. (n) Magnification of a vesicle in (l) showing large lipid droplets and endocytosed electron-dense nanoparticles. Calibration bar = 1 µm. Hitachi H7700 TEM, AMT 16-megapixel digital camera.