Preclinical models of acute liver failure: a comprehensive review

Joshua Hefler; Braulio A Marfil-Garza; Rena L Pawlick; Darren H Freed; Constantine J Karvellas; David L Bigam; A M James Shapiro

doi:10.7717/peerj.12579

Preclinical models of acute liver failure: a comprehensive review

PeerJ. 2021 Dec 9:9:e12579. doi: 10.7717/peerj.12579. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Joshua Hefler¹, Braulio A Marfil-Garza^{1

2

3}, Rena L Pawlick¹, Darren H Freed⁴, Constantine J Karvellas^{5

6}, David L Bigam¹, A M James Shapiro^{1

7}

Affiliations

¹ Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
² National Institutes of Medical Sciences & Nutrition Salvador Zubiran, Mexico City, Mexico.
³ CHRISTUS-LatAm Hub Excellence & Innovation Center, Monterrey, Mexico.
⁴ Division of Cardiac Surgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
⁵ Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
⁶ Department of Critical Care Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
⁷ Clinical Islet Transplant Program, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Abstract

Acute liver failure is marked by the rapid deterioration of liver function in a previously well patient over period of days to weeks. Though relatively rare, it is associated with high morbidity and mortality. This makes it a challenging disease to study clinically, necessitating reliance on preclinical models as means to explore pathophysiology and novel therapies. Preclinical models of acute liver failure are artificial by nature, and generally fall into one of three categories: surgical, pharmacologic or immunogenic. This article reviews preclinical models of acute liver failure and considers their relevance in modeling clinical disease.

Keywords: Acute liver failure; Preclinical models; Surgical models; Toxicity models.

Grants and funding

Braulio A. Marfil-Garza is supported by the Patronato del Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Medicas y Nutricion Salvador Zubiran (INCMNSZ), the Fundación para la Salud y la Educación Dr. Salvador Zubirán (FunSaEd), and the CHRISTUS Excellence and Innovation Center. A. M. James Shapiro holds a Canada Research Chair in Transplantation Surgery and Regenerative Medicine. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.