EXPERIMENTAL LIVER NECROSIS; II. ENZYMES

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Pathology

Background:

• Autolysis, the self-digestion of cells, is a critical process in tissue degradation.
• Liver necrosis involves significant biochemical alterations, impacting protein breakdown and nitrogen metabolism.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of blood serum on liver autolysis in normal and necrotic conditions.
• To analyze the changes in non-coagulable nitrogen, monamino-acids, ammonia production, and specific enzyme/amino acid presence during liver autolysis.

Main Methods:

• Comparison of autolytic rates and nitrogenous compound levels in washed versus unwashed normal and necrotic liver tissues.
• Analysis of ammonia production through partition experiments and absolute production measurements.
• Enzyme assays for arginase and examination of amino acid profiles (leucin, tyrosin) in liver and urine.

Main Results:

• Blood serum significantly inhibits autolysis in both normal and necrotic livers, reducing non-coagulable nitrogen increase.
• Necrotic livers exhibit higher initial and final levels of non-coagulable nitrogen and increased ammonia production compared to normal livers.
• Arginase is absent in necrotic livers, while tyrosin is consistently found in livers with diffuse necrosis and sometimes in urine.

Conclusions:

• Blood serum plays a crucial inhibitory role in liver autolysis.
• Liver necrosis is characterized by accelerated protein breakdown, evidenced by elevated non-coagulable nitrogen and ammonia.
• The absence of arginase and presence of tyrosin in necrotic livers suggest specific metabolic derangements during necrosis.