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Updated: Oct 29, 2025

Inducing Acute Liver Injury in Rats via Carbon Tetrachloride CCl4 Exposure Through an Orogastric Tube
Published on: April 28, 2020
CHANGES IN THE KIDNEY AND LIVER STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS DURING THE EXPERIMENTAL, NON-LETHAL LOAD OF CARBON
O Tatarina1, О Chulak1, Yu Chulak1
1¹National Pirogov Memorial Medical University, Vinnitsa; ²International Humanities University, Odessa; ³Ukrainian Research Institute of Medical Rehabilitation and Balneology of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, Odessa.
Abstract:
Objective - to evaluate changes in the structure and function of the liver and kidneys under non-lethal carbon tetrachloride intragastric administration. Experimental studies were performed on 46 white Wistar male rats. Within 7 days, the experimental group of animals underwent intoxication with the introduction of 0.5 ml of CCl₄. The state of liver function was evaluated by the activity of ALT and AST, the amount of bilirubin in the blood, the content of serum creatinine and urea, the amount of total serum protein. The state of renal function was assessed by changes in daily diuresis, glomerular filtration function, percentage of tubular reabsorption, serum creatinine and urea, indicators of chloride output and urine pH. The results of a study in experimental animals with the introduction of carbon tetrachloride showed that in the liver and kidneys there is a development of dystrophic lesions: vacuoles in the hepatocytes and endothelial cells of the glomeruli, disorders of the structural and functional organization of the liver parenchyma, swelling of Kupffer cells, swelling of the tubular epithelium, eosinophilic inclusions in the liver and renal interstitium. However, the activity of redox functions was maintained and this suggests that the detected changes are not irreversible. In the kidneys, tubular cortical degeneration was determined, which is obviously associated with the renotropic effect of gentamicin. At the same time, liver and kidney function changes. In the liver, the activity of transamination enzymes decreases, the level of urea and creatinine in the blood rises, and the level of bilirubin in the blood changes. In the kidneys, the rate of glomerular filtration and tubular reabsorption decreases, the level of creatinine and urea in the urine decreases, that is, urination and excretory function of the kidneys are impaired. The reaction to intoxication with carbon tetrachloride is also observed from other functional systems. In the peripheral blood, the number of red blood cells decreases (the transport function of red blood cells persists). The balance and intensity of lipid peroxidation processes and the antioxidant system are disturbed. Violation of the energy supply of the transmembrane potential, a decrease in ESR, and the content of total blood protein increases (the changes nomenclature of plasma proteins). With a non-fatal load of carbon tetrachloride, dystrophic changes in the liver and destructive changes in the kidneys were detected. The detoxification potential of the liver and urinary function of the kidneys decreased. Changes in nature were similar to those described in hepatorenal syndrome. However, taking into account that no nosology of liver damage was found, the activity of redox enzymes is preserved, the detected violations can be defined as pseudohepatorenal syndrome.
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