[Hepatocyte transplantation. Treatment of hepatic encephalopathy. An experimental study in the rat]

The aim of this work was to assess the effect of intrasplenic liver cell transplantation (ILCT) on hepatic insufficiency induced by a terminolateral portocaval shunt (PCS) in rats. Thirty syngenic Wistar Furth rats were divided up into three groups: (a) rats with PCS (n = 10); (b) rats with PCS then ILCT of 10(7) liver cells isolated from the livers of syngenic rats (n = 10); (c) operated control rats (n = 10). Double-blind behavior tests were carried out two weeks, two months and six months after surgery. The spontaneous motor activity and the exploring activity of each rat were studied in automated cages fitted with infrared diodes. Each interruption of the infrared beam was automatically recorded by a computer and converted into an activity score (number/hour). The spontaneous motor activity and the exploring activity were poor in the rats with PCS. The ILCT significantly increased the spontaneous motor activity and the exploring activity 2 months and 3 weeks after transplantation, respectively. Three months after transplantation, the spontaneous motor activity and the exploring activity in the PCS/ILCT group were not significantly different from those of the control rats. This study shows that ILCT can correct the neurological signs of hepatic encephalopathy in an experimental model of chronic hepatic insufficiency, and suggests that ILCT may produce therapeutic benefits in chronic hepatic insufficiency.