Regulation of urea synthesis in sublobular regions of the liver lobule by oxygen

Techniques for Measurement of Oxygen Consumption Rates of Hepatocytes during Attachment and Post-Attachment

Three techniques for measuring oxygen consumption rate (OCR) of cultured cells relevant to the development of bioartificial liver devices are reported. In an oxystat apparatus, HepG2 cells immobilised on Cytodex 3 microcarriers at a concentration of 106 cells ml-1 had a mean OCR of 0.7 nmol s-1/106 cells. The OCR decreased with increasing cell density, a characteristic previously reported for other cell lines. Rat hepatocytes immobilised on single collagen layers in a flow cell and challenged with ammonia had a mean OCR of 0.59 nmol s-1/106 cells. A novel two-compartment oxystat system was used to determine the OCR of rat hepatocytes during the attachment phase. OCR declined from 1.0 nmol s-1/106 immediately after seeding to 0.7 nmol s-1/106 cells at nine hours. The low OCR for HepG2 reflects loss of certain oxygen dependent metabolic pathways. The OCR measured for rat hepatocytes during and post-attachment are significantly higher than those reported elsewhere and have major implications for the development of bioartificial liver devices.

Chronic ethanol treatment induces H2O2 production selectively in pericentral regions of the liver lobule

Chronic treatment with ethanol damages pericentral regions of the liver selectively, and reactive oxygen species such as H2O2 may be involved in the mechanism of hepatotoxicity. To test this idea, the effect of chronic treatment with ethanol on rates of H2O2 production was measured in tissue cylinders isolated from periportal and pericentral regions of livers from ethanol-treated rats. Rates of hydrogen peroxide production, assessed from the oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde by catalase-H2O2, were similar in tissue cylinders isolated from periportal regions in control and ethanol-treated rats. In contrast, rates of H2O2 production were over 4-fold higher in tissue isolated from pericentral regions of livers from ethanol-treated than control animals (1.7 +/- 0.5 vs. 0.4 +/- 0.3 nmol/min/mg protein, respectively). Rates of H2O2-generating acyl CoA oxidase activity were equivalent in tissue cylinders from periportal regions of livers from both groups (approximately 2 nmol/min/mg protein), but were over 2-fold higher in tissue cylinders from pericentral regions of livers from ethanol-treated rats than from controls. In contrast, catalase activity was increased nearly 2-fold in homogenates from both periportal and pericentral regions by ethanol treatment while glutathione peroxidase activity was decreased significantly in both regions. These data demonstrate that ethanol increases H2O2 generation in pericentral regions of the liver lobule in part by elevating rates of peroxisomal beta-oxidation of acyl CoA compounds and are consistent with the hypothesis that local increases in H2O2 production may be involved in the mechanism of ethanol-induced hepatotoxicity.

Metabolic zonation of the liver: regulation and implications for liver function

Liver parenchyma shows a remarkable heterogeneity of the hepatocytes along the porto-central axis with respect to ultrastructure and enzyme activities resulting in different cellular functions within different zones of the liver lobuli. According to the concept of metabolic zonation, the spatial organization of the various metabolic pathways and functions forms the basis for the efficient adaptation of liver metabolism to the different nutritional requirements of the whole organism in different metabolic states. The present review summarizes current knowledge about this heterogeneity, its development and determination, as well as about its significance for the understanding of all aspects of liver function and pathology, especially of intermediary metabolism, biotransformation of drugs and zonal toxicity of hepatotoxins.

Oxygen tension is a major determinant of hepatotoxicity due to 2-ethylhexanol in isolated tissue cylinders from periportal and pericentral regions of the liver lobule from phenobarbital-treated rats

2-Ethylhexanol, a metabolite of the commonly used plasticizer di(ethylhexyl)phthalate, was shown to cause toxicity exclusively to periportal regions of the perfused liver (Keller et al., 1990, J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 252, 1355-1360.) To determine whether this toxicity was due to local oxygen tension or to drug delivery, isolated cylinders (plugs) of periportal and pericentral regions of the liver lobule from rats pretreated with phenobarbital were collected with a micropunch following brief perfusion of the organ. Plugs were 0.2 mm wide and 0.5 mm long and weighed between 0.5 and 1 mg each. Following incubation for at least 2 hr in Eagle's medium, they were judged viable based on production of urea at high rates and minimal leakage of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Plugs could be cultured for up to 24 hr with minimal loss of activity. Urea synthesis from ammonium chloride (3 mM) by plugs incubated in Krebs-Henseleit buffer equilibrated with 95% O2:5% CO2 was proportional to protein concentration and was linear with time for up to one hour at rates around 75 mumol/g/hr. Incubation of plugs with 2-ethylhexanol (0.1 to 3 mM) diminished urea synthesis in a dose-related manner (half-maximal effect = 0.5 mM). Ethylhexanol also caused extensive cell damage assessed from LDH leakage in incubations at 800 microM O2 but significantly less injury at 200 microM O2. Concomitantly, urea synthesis was inhibited by ethylhexanol by over 80% at 800 microM O2 but less than 50% at 200 microM O2. Plugs isolated from both regions of the liver lobule were affected similarly by ethylhexanol and O2. Taken together, these data indicate that ethylhexanol toxicity is dependent on oxygen tension in isolated sublobular regions of the liver lobule, and therefore it is unlikely that drug delivery can explain the selective injury to periportal regions in studies with the perfused liver.