The urge of identifying new pharmacological interventions to prevent or attenuate liver injury is of critical importance and needs an expanded experimental toolbox. Hepatocyte injury and cellular death is a prominent feature behind the pathology of liver diseases. Several research activities focused on identifying chemicals and hepatotoxicants that induce cell death by apoptosis, in addition to presenting its corresponding signaling pathway. Although such efforts provided further understanding of the mechanisms of cell death, it has also raised confusion concerning identifying the involvement of several modes of cell death including apoptosis, necrosis and fibrosis. The current review highlights the ability of several chemicals and potential hepatotoxicants to induce liver damage in rodents by means of apoptosis while the probable involvement of other modes of cell death is also exposed. Thus, several chemical substances including hepatotoxins, mycotoxins, hyperglycemia inducers, metallic nanoparticles and immunosuppressant drugs are reviewed to explore the hepatic cytotoxic spectrum they could exert on hepatocytes of rodents. In addition, the current review address the mechanism by which hepatotoxicity is initiated in hepatocytes in different rodents aiding the researcher in choosing the right animal model for a better research outcome.
Keywords: cell death; hepatocytes; hepatotoxicity; liver; necrosis; oxidative stress.
© 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.