Restriction of gut-derived endotoxin impairs DNA synthesis for liver regeneration

The influence of restricting gut-derived endotoxin availability on liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy was evaluated. Partial hepatectomy was performed by 67% liver resection of ether-anesthetized rats. Liver regeneration was quantified after partial hepatectomy by [3H]thymidine incorporation into hepatic DNA; endotoxemia due to absorption of endogenous endotoxin from the gut into the portal circulation was determined by qualitative lysate assay of perchloric acid-extracted plasma samples, and plasma levels of the hepatotrophic factors insulin and glucagon were measured by radioimmunoassay. Treatments to restrict gut-derived endotoxin included chronic gavage with neomycin and cefazolin for gut sterilization, chronic gavage with cholestyramine to bind endotoxin within the gut, subcutaneous administration of polymyxin B to neutralize the lipid A portion of circulating endotoxin, intraperitoneal induction of endotoxin tolerance by progressively higher doses of endotoxin, and experimentation with isolator-reared defined flora Fisher rats that were Gram-negative bacteria deficient and therefore endotoxin deficient. All treatments to restrict endogenous endotoxin impaired DNA synthesis in regenerating livers particularly 21 h posthepatectomy when replication was increasing most rapidly in normal rats. We hypothesize that impairment of DNA synthesis after partial hepatectomy in endotoxin-restricted animals was due to the observed lack of normal systemic endotoxemic as well as hyperinsulinemic and hyperglucagonemic responses to 67% liver resection.