The Effects of Gadolinium in the Uterus and in the Ovary of Pregnant Rat: Ultrastructural Study

The subcellular behavior of gadolinium (Gd), used in medical and industrial fields, was studied in the uterus and in the ovary tissues after its intraperitoneal administration to pregnant rats. The ultrastructural investigations using the Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) revealed the presence of numerous heterogeneous clusters with very electron dense inclusions in the lysosomes of uterus (myometrium, endometrium cells), and of ovary (internal theca cells, granulosa cells), in addition to that there were cytoplasmic vacuolization, expansion of the endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondrial alterations and apoptosis foci were also highlighted. Moreover, huge phagolysosomes and high number of eosinophils as signs of inflammation produced by the damaged cells were also identified. On the other hand the sections of control pregnant rats showed a normal ultrastructure. These results demonstrated the toxicity of Gd and the important role played by lysosomes in the sequestration of Gd under insoluble form in all cells of studied tissues (uterus and ovary).