Role of Endotoxin in Liver Injury

抄録

systemic endotoxemia and its relation to the fibrotic process were studied in two forms of hepatic disorders in experimental animals. The first was bilharzial liver disease, and the second was CCl₄-induced cirrhosis. Endotoxin results were correlated with total hepatic collagen and tissue fibronectin, which are two indices of the fibrotic process. In schistosome-infested hamsters, early significant progressive elevation of plasma endotoxin was detected 6 weeks post-infestation and was correlated with significantly elevated total hepatic collagen and tissue fibronectin. In rats with CCl₄-induced cirrhosis, significant rise in plasma endotoxin, total hepatic collagen, and tissue fibronectin was observed at the 10th week after injections. We noticed that removal of intestinal endotoxins by neomycin administration, induction of endotoxin tolerance, or enhancement of macrophage functions by interferon (IFN) injections resulted in significant lower levels of systemic endotoxemia and fibrogenesis in both rats and hamsters.