Quantitative analysis of the early changes of hepatocyte nuclei after treating Syrian golden hamsters with di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate.

Although the biological action of phthalates has been widely discussed there is little information on early cellular changes indicative for toxic or carcinogenic effects. To study subtle alterations in the cell morphology, we have by means of image processing evaluated the nuclei of hamster hepatocytes after treatment with di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate given in single i.p. doses of 30, 300, and 3000 mg/kg. The results indicate that by using specially developed methods for analysis of images of cell nuclei and chromatin structure, it is possible to recognize changes eluding detection with usual light microscopy.