Abstract
We studied the tolerance to ischemic injury of thioacetamide-induced cirrhotic liver and normal liver in rats. Wistar rats were divided into an LC group (n=30): thioacetamide-induced liver cirrhosis, and an N group (n=30): normal. Ischemic injury was inflicted for sixty minutes, and bile was collected to determine bile flow and its recovery rate after reperfusion. High energy phosphates were measured before ischemia, before reperfusion, and 15, 30 and 60 minutes after reperfusion. ATP and TAN levels in the liver tissue (unit: μmol/gdw) 60 minutes after reperfusion were significantly (p<0.05) lower in the LC group (2.40 and 7.54, respectively) than in the N group (4.72 and 9.88, respectively). The TAN level immediately before reperfusion was also significantly (p<0.01) lower in the LC group (6.36) than in the N group (10.77). The survival rate one week after ischemic injury and the recovery rate of bile flow 60 minutes after reperfusion were significantly (p<0.01) low in the LC group (0% and 5.9%, respectively), compared with those in the N group (100% and 51.4%, respectively). Tolerance to ischemic injury was much lower in the cirrhotic liver than in the normal liver. Furthermore, remarkable reduction in the adenine nucleotide pool occurred in the course of ischemia, suggesting low ATP synthesis after reperfusion.
