Characterization of pro-apoptotic effect of liver failure plasma on primary human hepatocytes and its modulation by...

Plasma from patients with liver failure may contain toxic molecules that cause hepatocyte apoptosis and worsen liver disease, suggesting that removal of pro-apoptotic factors is an appropriate therapeutic strategy. We investigated the apoptosis of human hepatocytes induced by plasma from patients with both acute and acute-on-chronic liver disease, and the effect of molecular adsorbent dialysis (molecular adsorbent recirculation system [MARS] dialysis) on this. Apoptotic effects of acute and acute-on-chronic liver failure plasmas from 46 patients were assessed on cultured primary human hepatocytes using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL) labeling and caspase 3 activation. In 11 patients undergoing MARS dialysis, the pro-apoptotic effect of their plasma was analyzed before and after therapy. Acute liver failure plasma induced more apoptosis than normal plasma (within 4-6 h of culture, a 2.5-fold increase by TUNEL labeling, 1.8-fold by caspase 3 activation), via a pathway involving caspase 8, suggesting involvement of the death-receptor pathway. However, not all acute liver failure plasmas were significantly more pro-apoptotic than normal plasma. Plasma from patients with acutely decompensated chronic liver disease induced apoptosis at the same rate as normal plasma. MARS dialysis improved biochemical parameters indicating effective removal of albumin-bound molecules, but the apoptotic effects of the plasma were unchanged. Thus, plasma of patients with acute liver failure, compared to normal plasma, induced increased apoptosis of primary human hepatocytes by a caspase-8- and caspase-3-dependent pathway. The apoptosis induced in the presence of liver failure plasma was not reduced by MARS dialysis.