EN
The study material consisted of 32 Wistar female rats The rats were divided into four equal groups. The rats from the experimental groups received adriamycin - 5 mg/kg b.w. to induce apoptosis and were decapitated after 4 and 7 weeks. After decapitation, specimens from the liver were collected, fixed in 10% formalin, and then embedded in paraffin blocks. Caspases 1, 3, 8, 9, and 12, Bcl-2, BAX, and Apaf-1 were detected using the standard three-step immunohistochemical method. Adriamycin-induced apoptosis in the hepatocytes occurred after 4 weeks and increased after 7 weeks (an increase for executing caspase). Irrespective of the time factor, it was induced mainly via the mitochondrial pathway (statistically-significant increase in reaction for BAX, Apaf-1, and caspase 9) and reticular pathway (statistically-significant increase in reaction for caspase 12). Apoptosis via the extrinsic pathway through caspase 8 activation was comparable to that in control (insignificant caspase 8 reaction). There was no increased reaction observed for caspase 1, one of the markers of inflammation.