Regeneration of liver with marked fatty change following partial hepatectomy in rats

Resection of liver for primary and metastatic tumors and living donor liver transplantation has become a common clinical practice. The success of recovery depends on the regeneration and functions of the remnant liver. However, information on the regenerative potential of liver with steatosis and steatohepatitis, a common clinical problem in this country, is incomplete. Therefore, we evaluated regeneration after two-thirds partial hepatectomy (PH) in male F-344 rats with marked steatosis and mild steatohepatitis induced by feeding choline-deficient diet. Choline-deficient rats and control rats were killed at 24, 36, 48, 72, and 96 h after PH. Liver regeneration was determined by measuring mitotic activity and bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) labeling in hepatocytes. Livers of rats maintained on the choline-deficient diet showed marked steatosis and mild steatohepatitis. In these animals the levels of serum and liver triacylglycerols (TG) were low and very high, respectively, when compared to controls. In control rats mitotic and BrdU labeling indices were maximal at 24 h followed by a rapid decline, whereas in choline-deficient rats both these indices increased significantly at 36 h and decreased gradually over the next 60 h. By 96 h the size of livers in both groups was comparable. The results of this study indicate that regeneration in the liver of rats with marked steatosis is not impaired.