Fig. 2: Histopathology staining and transmission electron microscopy of painted turtle liver tissues and organoids. | Communications Biology

Fig. 2: Histopathology staining and transmission electron microscopy of painted turtle liver tissues and organoids.

From: Establishment and characterization of turtle liver organoids provides a potential model to decode their unique adaptations

Fig. 2

Overview of turtle liver histology from a hatchling painted turtle (Chrysemys picta). a–c Turtle liver lobules were distinguished by a portal venule (Pv) in the peripheral portal triad and the terminal hepatic venule (Hv) centrally in the lobule. In the portal triad, a small bile duct is seen (b, inset and arrows) next to the Pv. d Nucleated erythrocytes (red arrows) are seen within sinusoids and melanomacrophages (black arrow) are readily detected in the interstitium by their cytoplasmic pigment. Hepatocytes (black arrowheads) often have round nuclei and the cells are distended by increased rarefaction, which parallels the magenta color of Periodic acid Schiff (PAS)+ glycogen (e). f Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of turtle liver tissue with arrows identifying structures of interest (nucleus = black, nucleolus = yellow, green = mitochondria). Note the frequent mitochondria characteristic for hepatocytes. g, h Alcian blue (AB) histochemical stain of hatchling turtle (Chrysemys picta) liver organoids showed AB+ mucins in the apical cytoplasm of epithelioid cells lining the lumina (inset and arrows). Note also the round nuclei that has central to basal localization in the cytoplasm. i, j TEM images of turtle liver organoids show mucin granules in apical cytoplasm, confirming AB+ staining. k TEM of the turtle liver organoids with arrows identifying structures (nucleus = black, nucleolus = yellow, blue = microvilli). Note the relative paucity of mitochondria compared to hepatocytes (see Fig. 2F). Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) stain (a–d), PAS stain (e), Osmium stained TEM (f, i–k) and Alcian blue stain (g, h). Scale bars are in µm. l RNA-seq expression of mucin genes detected in C. picta organoids and tissues from hatchlings and adults. The main matrix-colored cells are the Z-scores for the normalized count data for gene expression (red = higher expression, blue = lower expression). The boxplot shows the summary of the values for the log Fold Change (logFC) data column. Hatchling and tissue were set as baseline in the contrasts, therefore blue depicts a bias towards their expression and red depicts a bias towards organoid or adult expression. AvgExpr = Average Expression.

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