Background: Extended liver resection is applied in the treatment of liver tumors and during living-related liver transplantation. This procedure can lead to transient, in some patients even lethal liver failure. Administration of G-CSF is associated with an increased survival after toxic liver damage. It is the aim of this study to test the effect of G-CSF administration in the rat 90% extended liver resection model.
Materials: Rats with and without G-CSF treatment were subjected to 90% partial hepatectomy using a mass ligation technique. Animals were sacrificed 6 hr, 24 hr, and 7 days after resection. Read-out parameters were liver damage in terms of liver enzymes and histomorphological alterations. Hepatic regeneration was determined by measuring liver weight recovery and calculating the BrdU proliferation index of hepatocytes. G-CSF-receptor expression was visualized in both groups by immunohistochemistry. Expression of lipopolysaccharide-binding-protein (LBP) mRNA was evaluated by quantitative PCR.
Results: Survival rate was increased in the G-CSF-treatment group. Full liver weight recovery within one week was only achieved in the treatment group and was accompanied by reduced liver damage. G-CSF-receptor upregulation subsequent to administration of G-CSF may indicate a direct receptor mediated effect of G-CSF on the liver. Upregulation of LBP mRNA in the liver of G-CSF treated animals--reported to be associated with an increased host defense--could demonstrate a mode of action of G-CSF.