Effect of dietary lipid (soybean lecithin and triacylglycerol) on hepatic F-actin microfilaments in cyclosporine A-treated rats: image analysis by confocal laser scanning microscopy.

We studied and quantified the effect of cyclosporine A on hepatic F-actin on bile canalicular and basolateral membranes in rats fed either soybean lecithin, triacylglycerol-enriched diet, or low-fat diet by means of confocal laser scanning microscopy imaging. The phalloidin-FITC staining of F-actin was quite normal in the lecithin-cyclosporine A group but decreased significantly in the other cyclosporine A-treated groups (by 40% and 25% of control in triacylglycerol-cyclosporine A and cyclosporine A groups, respectively). The alteration of F-actin by cyclosporine A, related to cholestasis evidenced by a decrease in bile salt secretion, was prevented by dietary soybean lecithin and amplified by dietary soybean triacylglycerol.