[Experimental models for assessment of pulmonary alterations in hepatopulmonary syndrome]

The aim of this study was to identify the best experimental model in which to observe the pulmonary alterations characterizing hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS).

Male Wistar rats, with mean weight of 250 g, were used in four experimental models: inhaled carbon tetrachloride; intraperitoneal carbon tetrachloride; partial portal vein ligation; and bile duct ligation (BDL). The animals in all groups were divided into control and experimental subgroups. The following variables were measured: transaminase levels; blood gases; lipoperoxidation, using thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and chemiluminescence; and levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) anti-oxidant activity. Anatomopathological examination of the lung was also performed.

There were statistically significant differences between the BDL control and BDL experimental groups: aspartate aminotransferase (105.3 +/- 43 vs. 500.5 +/- 90.3 IU/L); alanine aminotransferase (78.75 +/- 37.7 vs. 162.75 +/- 35.4 IU/L); alkaline phosphatase (160 +/- 20.45 vs. 373.25 +/- 45.44 IU/L); arterial oxygen tension (85.25 +/- 8.1 vs. 49.9 +/- 22.5 mmHg); and oxygen saturation (95 +/- 0.7 vs. 73.3 +/- 12.07%). Lipoperoxidation and antioxidant activity also differed significantly between the two BDL groups (control vs. experimental): TBARS (0.87 +/- 0.3 vs. 2.01 +/- 0.9 nmol/mg protein); chemiluminescence (16008.41 +/- 1171.45 vs. 20250.36 +/- 827.82 cps/mg protein); and SOD (6.66 +/- 1.34 vs. 16.06 +/- 2.67 IU/mg protein). The anatomopathological examination confirmed pulmonary vasodilatation in the BDL model. In the other models, there were no alterations that were characteristic of HPS.

The data obtained suggest that the BDL model can be used in future studies involving hepatic alterations related to oxidative stress and HPS.