EFFECT OF SEX HORMONES ON THE INDUCTION OF MACROPHAGE-MEDIATED HEPATOCYTOTOXICITY

Abstract

When peritoneal exudate macrophages were activated with the lipopolysaccharide prepared from a gram-negative bacteria and cocultured with the isolated liver cells in vitro, macrophage-mediated hepatocytotoxicity was induced. Although this hepatocytotoxicity was not inducible by pretreatment of macrophages with lower doses of lipopolysaccharide than 1μg/ml, a significant hepatocytotoxicity was demonstrated by culturing the isolated liver cells with macrophages pretreated with low doses LPS and estrogen. This increases hepatocytotoxicity by estrogen was shown to be diminished by sinultaneous addition of testosterone with estrogen. The pretreatment of macrophages with estrogen alone did not induced the macrophage-mediated hepatocytotoxicity.
These results suggested that sex hormones might exert their regulatory effects on the induction of macrophage-mediated hepatocytotoxicity.