Effect of an antimitotic agent colchicine on thioacetamide hepatotoxicity

In an earlier study we established that timely and adequate tissue repair response following the administration of a six-fold dose-range of thioacetamide (TA; 50, 150, and 300 mg/kg) prevented progression of injury and led to recovery and animal survival. Delayed and attenuated repair response after the 600 mg/kg TA dose resulted in a marked progression of injury and 100% lethality. The objective of the present study was to further scrutinize this concept in an experimental protocol in which we hypothesized that a selective ablation of the tissue repair response should lead to lethality from the nonlethal, moderately toxic doses of 150 and 300 mg/kg TA. In this study we investigated the effect of the antimitotic agent colchicine (CLC, 1 mg/kg) on the outcome of TA hepatotoxicity. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (175-225 g) were injected intraperitoneally (ip) with 150 and 300 mg/kg TA. We assessed liver injury by serum enzyme elevations and histopathology. Tissue regeneration response was measured by 3H-thymidine incorporation into hepatonuclear DNA and by proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) assay. S-Phase stimulation, as indicated by 3H-thymidine incorporation, was noted at 36 and 48 hr following the administration of 150 mg/kg TA, whereas with the 300 mg/kg TA S-phase stimulation was elicited at 48 hr following treatment. Therefore, two doses of CLC (30 hr and 42 hr, 1 mg/kg, ip) were administered to the 150 mg/kg treated group while a single dose of CLC (42 hr, 1 mg/kg, ip) was administered to the 300 mg/kg group. CLC treatment resulted in 100% lethality in both groups. Thus, CLC administration converted nonlethal doses into lethal doses. The 150 mg/kg TA dose was then chosen to further investigate the underlying mechanism. Rats treated with TA alone recovered from injury by 36-48 hr while CLC treatment resulted in a progression of injury as indicated by serum enzyme elevation and histopathology. Tissue repair, as evidenced by 3H-thymidine incorporation and PCNA studies explained this dichotomy. Antimitotic intervention with CLC resulted in a significantly diminished repair response leading to unrestrained progression of injury and lethality even from nonlethal doses. This model demonstrates the critical role of tissue repair response in determining the final outcome of toxicity.