Red Cell Survival in Experimental Cholestatic Jaundice

Abstract

Red cell survival was estimated in Sprague‐Dawley and Gunn rats following bile duct ligation. A significant difference in the values for red cell survival was found between bile‐duct‐ligated Sprague‐Dawley rats and their sham‐operated controls using both the 51 Cr and DF 23 P techniques, but no significant difference was observed between bile duct ligated homozygous Gunn rats and their sham‐operated controls. Heterozygous Gunn rats behaved similarly to Sprague‐Dawley rats with respect to haemolysis after bile duct ligation. These findings suggested that the haemolytic process accompanying cholestatic jaundice may be related to the increased levels of conjugated bilirubin in the plasma but not to the accumulation of conjugated bile acids, phospholipids and cholesterol. A significant difference in red cell survival was observed between sham‐operated controls and non‐operated controls in both Sprague‐Dawley and Gunn rats; this was probably due to activation, by the operation, of Haemobartonella muris infection, which was subsequently found to be endemic in the colony.