Taurolithocholate impairs bile canalicular motility and canalicular bile secretion in isolated rat hepatocyte couplets

Figure 6 Transmission electron micrographs of isolated hepatocytes. A bar indicates 1 μm. A: Normal hepatocytes prior to the addition of taurolithocholate (TLC). A bile canaliculus (BC) was slightly dilated and filled with microvilli. B: 12 h after the addition of 50 μmol/L TLC. Note the characteristic lamellar transformation of the bile canalicular membranes. A bile canaliculus (BC) was deformed and dilated with a loss of microvilli. Electron dense membranous structures of biliary materials (arrowheads) were found in the vacuoles in the pericanalicular region.