Correlation between plasma and hepatic phosphatidylcholine hydroperoxide, energy charge, and total glutathione content in ischemia reperfusion injury of rat liver.

Abstract

These results indicated that prolonged hepatic ischemia with reperfusion produced bursts of oxygen-derived free radicals which overwhelmed the defense mechanisms of the cells, with a resultant decrease in energy charge associated with an increase in membrane lipid peroxidation. These findings not only provide confirmation of previously reported hepatocellular injury by free radicals generated after reperfusion, but they also establish the use of PCOOH analysis in liver and plasma as a sensitive and specific indicator of the injury process in time. The plasma PCOOH level may be a useful indicator of free radical induced hepatic membrane lipid peroxidation during ischemia-reperfusion, and might be employed in clinical studies of the therapeutic effects of drugs in various liver diseases, as well as for determining the prognosis after different kinds of hepatic operations.