Abstract
Background/Aims: There is an urgent need for an effective bioartificial liver system to bridge patients
with fulminant hepatic failure to liver transplantation or to regeneration of their
own liver. Recently, we proposed a bioreactor with a novel design for use as a bioartificial
liver (BAL). The reactor comprises a spirally wound nonwoven polyester fabric in which
hepatocytes are cultured (40·106 cells/ml) as small aggregates and homogeneously distributed oxygenation tubing for
decentralized oxygen supply and CO2 removal. The aims of this study were to evaluate the treatment efficacy of our original
porcine hepatocyte-based BAL in rats with fulminant hepatic failure due to liver ischemia
(LIS) and to monitor the viability of the porcine hepatocytes in the bioreactor during
treatment. The latter aim is novel and was accomplished by applying a new species-specific
enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for the determination of porcine alpha-glutathione S-transferase
(α-GST), a marker for hepatocellular damage.
Methods: Three experimental groups were studied: the first control group (LIS Control, n=13) received a glucose infusion only; a second control group (LIS No-Cell-BAL, n=8) received BAL treatment without cells; and the treated group (LIS Cell-BAL, n=8) was connected to our BAL which had been seeded with 4.4·108 viable primary porcine hepatocytes.
Results/Conclusions: In contrast to previous comparable studies, BAL treatment significantly improved
survival time in recipients with LIS. In addition, the onset of hepatic encephalopathy
was significantly delayed and the mean arterial blood pressure significantly improved.
Significantly lower levels of ammonia and lactate in the LIS Cell-BAL group indicated
that the porcine hepatocytes in the bioreactor were metabolically activity. Low pig
α-GST levels suggested that our bioreactor was capable of maintaining hepatocyte viability
during treatment. These results provide a rationale for a comparable study in LIS-pigs
as a next step towards potential clinical application.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
August 18,
1998
Received in revised form:
August 12,
1998
Received:
March 23,
1998
Identification
Copyright
© 1999 Published by Elsevier Inc.
