Morphology of Acute Liver Failure During Treatment with a Combination of Drug Therapy and Transplanted Cultured Hepatocytes.

Objectives: We analyzed liver tissue morphology dynamics in experimental animals with acute liver failure during treatment with a combination of transplanted cultured embryonic hepatocytes and the hepatoprotective drug Erbisol. Materials and Methods: We studied 30 white outbred male rats weighing 250 to 350 g, divided into 6 groups with 5 animals in each group. Acute liver damage was induced by a hepatotoxic model of acute liver failure for which carbon tetrachloride was applied (200 mu g CCl4/100 g body weight with toxin-to-oil volume ratio of 1:1). To obtain cultured embryonic hepatocytes, we used an enzymatic-mechanical process that caused only minimal cell damage. This method is known to improve the output of viable cultured embryonic hepatocytes, improve the morphological-functional properties of the hepatocytes, and reduce the process time during procurement, and thereby reduce the overall time from procurement to the subsequent culturing of the obtained cells. Transplant of cultured embryonic hepatocytes was performed intraperitoneally at a dose of 50 million (0.5 x 10(8)) cells. Morphological studies were performed on day 7 and day 21 of the experiment. Results and Conclusions: There were significant morphological changes in livers from animals with acute liver failure, caused by widespread necrosis and an elevated inflammatory response. Treatment with injections of cultured embryonic hepatocytes induced regeneration of the liver parenchyma cells and reduced the inflammatory response, both of which were further reduced in rats that received combined treatment of transplant with Erbisol. Combined application of cultured embryonic hepatocytes and Erbisol potentiated the effects of both treatments, which produced intensive proliferation of hepatocytes, hypertrophy and polyploidization of hepatocyte nuclei, and an early restoration of liver structure and organ mass.