Abstract
Background. We have previously reported that by means of a breath test with intravenously administered
L-[1-13C] phenylalanine (13Cphe), hepatopathy could be quantitatively evaluated by measuring expiratory 13CO2 levels in a short period. It is known that phenylalanine hydroxylase activity (PAHA)
plays an important role in phenylalanine metabolism. We examined the relationship
between changes in PAHA and the results of the 13Cphe breath test during hepatic regeneration in a rat model of 70% hepatectomy, to
assess their usefulness for evaluating hepatic regeneration. Methods. Male Wistar rats (Shizvoka Laboratory Animal Center, Hamamatsu, Japan) weighing 230
to 290 g were subjected to 70% hepatectomy under anesthesia with sodium pentobarbital.
One, 2, 3, 5, 7, and 14 days postoperatively, 30 mg/kg 13Cphe was intravenously injected into the femoral vein, and the increase in exhaled
13CO2 (Δ13CO2) was measured for 15 minutes. Simple laparotomy was performed in control rats. After
the breath test, the regenerated liver was removed and weighed. The amount of DNA,
amount of hepatic tissue total protein (TP), and PAHA were determined. Results. The r between liver weight/body weight and PAHA, between DNA and PAHA, and between
TP and PAHA were 0.832, 0.720, and 0.758, respectively. Breath test graphs revealed
that liver weight/body weight, DNA, and TP showed the best correlations with the peak
value of Δ13CO2 (liver weight/body weight percentage, r = 0.801; DNA, r = 0.660; TP, r = 0.706),
and r between PAHA and peak value was 0.638. Conclusions. These results suggest that measurement of PAHA in regenerated liver is an effective
method for following up liver function after hepatic resection. Moreover, the 13Cphe breath test may also be useful to evaluate liver function after partial hepatectomy.
Surgery 2002;132:849-56.
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
April 7,
2002
Footnotes
*Supported by a grant from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of Japan (High-Tech Research Center, Nihon University).
**Reprint requests: Yukimoto Ishii, MD, PhD, Department of Pharmacology, Nihon University School of Medicine, Oyaguchi-Kami Machi, Itabashi, Tokyo 173, Japan.
Identification
Copyright
© 2002 Mosby, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
