OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of congestion/reperfusion injury (CRI) and ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) on remnant liver in rats after hepatectomy.

METHODSMale SD rats were divided into IRI, CRI, and control groups. In the former two groups, the left lateral lobe of the rats were subjected to IRI or CRI for 30 min with the rest lobes (about 70% of the total liver weight) resected; the rats in the control group received hepatectomy preserving only the left lateral lobe. The mortality rate of the rats was recorded, and the surviving rats were sacrificed at 1, 3 and 7 days after operation for analyses of ICG plasma disappearance rate (ICG-PDR), ALT, AST, liver regeneration rate, and Ki-67 labeling index.

RESULTSThe mortality rate was significantly higher in CRI group (34.3%) than in IRI group (8%, P<0.05) and control group (4%, P<0.01). On day 1 following hepatectomy, CRI group showed significantly higher liver enzyme levels and poorer liver functions than the control group (P<0.05) without significant differences from those in IRI group (P<0.05); Ki-67 labeling index in CRI group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P<0.01) and IRI group (P<0.01). Compared with the control group, CRI group showed a significantly lowered maximum Ki-67 labeling index with also a delayed occurrence (P<0.01); CRI resulted in poorer liver regeneration rate on day 3 after hepatectomy compared to the control group (P<0.01) and IRI (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONCompared with IRI, CRI can result in severer liver damage and lowered liver regenerative capacity in rats early after hepatectomy.