Functional activity of human hepatocytes under traumatic disease

Absorption and fluorescent cytophotometry techniques were applied to studies of RNA as well as of total glycogen and its fractions as the parameters of functional activity of the hepatocytes in patients with severe mechanical trauma, both with and without autointoxication (AI). Slides were stained with gallocyanine-chromalums to determine the RNA content and were processed by the fluorescent PAS-reaction for the glycogen content. To trace the dynamics of RNA and glycogen contents in the liver punction biopsies were done in the same patients. A quick increase in the RNA content took place in both groups of patients at the first period (within the first 3 days) of traumatic disease. At the second period of disease the hepatocyte RNA content in patients without AI was found to decrease up to the initial level whereas that in patients with AI increased on the average by 36% of the initial values. The total glycogen content in hepatocytes of all the patients changed insignificantly in the course of disease but its labile fraction in patients with AI decreased to 70% of the total. The increase of hepatocyte synthetic activity and the maintenance of the high glycogen level are indicative of the large compensatory potential of the liver that enables it to carry an intensive functional load under AI conditions.