[Results of autotransplantation of hepatocytes in hepatectomized rats]

With a view of clarifying the mechanism whereby the beneficial effect of hepatocyte transplantation is obtained, an autologous transplant was made of hepatocytes in the peritoneum of a surgical model of acute hepatic insufficiency in the rat, highly reproducible to the detriment of its reversibility. The cells were prepared in accordance with the non-perfusional enzymatic method proposed by Fry. The cell yield from 3 g of liver tissue was 4 X 10(6), with an index of viability of over 70%. There was no difference in survival between the treated animals and the control group, though coma appeared significantly later in the former. The conclusion is therefore drawn that transplantation offers no metabolic support to the anhepatic animal. Further investigation is required of the biochemical and metabolic aspects of the function of the hepatocyte in the light of its induction of a significant delay in the appearance of coma.