Rat Kidney Centrioles: Vitamin E Intake and Oxygen Exposure

Abstract
The incidence and morphology of centrioles in the proximal convoluted tubules of the rat kidney are altered by the dietary content of vitamin E, but not vitamin A, and by an increase in the pressure of oxygen. Increases in the number of centrioles in rats depleted of vitamin E and in those exposed to oxygen suggest that an oxidative mechanism is involved in the centriole alterations. The known antisterility action of vitamin E may thus be related to the direct protection of the mitotic apparatus.