The morphology and composition of cholesterol, protein, and bilirubin deposits in dried human bile: cathodoluminescence and backscattered electron imaging.

This work is the first to deal with the application of color cathodoluminescence scanning electron microscopy (CCL SEM) and a novel version of combined imaging with backscattered electrons (CCL + BSE SEM) for the study of the composition of bile and its precipitation mechanisms. The present study demonstrates cholesterol, protein, and bilirubin distribution in deposits of normal and abnormal human bile after solution evaporation to full dryness. Qualitative CCL SEM analysis showed that dried bile remnants include different proportions of the above components.

[Cholestasis assessment by activity of antioxidant enzymes and composition of plasma lipoproteins in patients with liver diseases].

Aim: Investigation of activity of copper-containing enzymes in plasma superoxide dismutase (SOD) and ceruloplasmin (CP) in comparison with concentrations of lipoproteins (LP) of the main classes in patients with chronic hepatic diseases (CHD).

Materials And Methods: SOD activity, CP and LP in plasma were measured in 90 patients with CHD.

Results: An inverse relationship was found between SOD activity and CP content in CHD.

Investigation of cholesterol, bilirubin, and protein distribution in human gallstones by color cathodoluminescence scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy.

The application of color cathodoluminescent scanning electron microscopy (CCL-SEM) for qualitative luminescence analysis of cholesterol, bilirubin, and protein in human gallastones was demonstrated. Images of these deposits (cholesterol, bilirubin, and protein) were formed in real colors (blue-cholesterol, red, orange-bilirubin, yellow, green-protein) in accordance with the cathodoluminescent spectrum for each control material. The other method described for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of ultrathin sections provides more detailed characterization of the ultrastructure of cholesterol-containing regions and their spatial interrelations with bilirubin-containing regions.