Scanning electron microscopic surface morphology of isolated hepatocytes from normal and premalignant rat liver.

Scanning electron microscopy was performed on hepatocytes isolated after collagenase perfusion of livers from rats fed 2-acetylaminofluorene (AAF) in the diet for 6--8 weeks and on hepatocytes from control rats. The premalignant AAF-cells showed a greater variation in cell size and shape. They also exhibited a reduced number of microvilli and more blebs and other protrusions on the surface than hepatocytes from control animals.