South African Journal of Surgery
Journal / South African Journal of Surgery / Vol. 43 No. 3 (2005) / Articles

download PDF

Published:

Nov 21, 2005

Issue

Vol. 43 No. 3 (2005)

Section

Articles

Material submitted for publication in the South African Medical Journal (SAMJ) is accepted provided it has not been published elsewhere. Copyright forms will be sent with acknowledgement of receipt and the SAMJ reserves copyright of the material published. The SAMJ does not hold itself responsible for statements made by the authors.

SB Ibirogba

Department of Surgery, and Medical Research Council Liver Research Centre, University of Cape Town, South Africa

CW Spearman

Department of Surgery, and Medical Research Council Liver Research Centre, University of Cape Town, South Africa

A Mall

Department of Surgery, and Medical Research Council Liver Research Centre, University of Cape Town, South Africa

E Shepherd

Department of Surgery, and Medical Research Council Liver Research Centre, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Z Lotz

Department of Surgery, and Medical Research Council Liver Research Centre, University of Cape Town, South Africa

M Tyler

Department of Surgery, and Medical Research Council Liver Research Centre, University of Cape Town, South Africa

D Kahn

Department of Surgery, and Medical Research Council Liver Research Centre, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Abstract

In living donor liver transplantation, the recipient liver undergoes more rapid regeneration than the remnant liver in the donor. In this study we investigated the factors which may be responsible for the difference in the regenerative response between the donor and the recipient. Long Evans rats were subjected to either partial hepatectomy (PH) or sham operation (SH) and were treated with liver cytosol (C) and cyclosporine (Cy). The rats were sacrificed at 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours and 1 and 2 weeks postoperatively. The livers were removed to determine the liver weight/body weight (LW / BW) ratio and the mitotic index.
The mitotic index, serum aspartate transferase (AST) and serum alanine transferase (ALT), although unchanged in the SH groups, were increased in the rats treated with PH + C + Cy, and were greater than after PH only. However LW / BW ratios increased after PH but had returned to preoperative levels by 2 weeks. The changes in LW / BW ratio were not modified by the cytosol or cyclosporine.

South African Journal of Surgery Vol. 43(3) 2005: 70-72

Journal Identifiers

eISSN: 2078-5151
print ISSN: 0038-2361