Evaluation of Liver Regeneration Using the [formula omitted]-[1-13C]Methionine Breath Test

• Published in: The Journal of surgical research 2001-02, Vol.95 (2), p.195-199
• Main Authors: Ishii, Yukimoto, Asai, Satoshi, Kohno, Tadashi, Takahashi, Yasuo, Nagata, Toshihito, Suzuki, Shigeru, Kohno, Tomohisa, Iwai, Shigetomi, Ishikawa, Koichi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: [formula omitted]-[1-13C]methionine; breath test; hepatectomy; liver regeneration; rat
• ISSN: 0022-4804; 1095-8673
• DOI: 10.1006/jsre.2000.6012

Background. We examined the relationship between changes in the liver weight/body weight percentage, amount of hepatic tissue total DNA, and the results of the [1-13C]methionine (13Cmet) breath test during hepatic regeneration in a rat model of 70% hepatectomy, to assess their usefulness for evaluating hepatic regeneration. Materials and methods. Male Wistar rats (230–290 g) were subjected to 70% hepatectomy under anesthesia with Nembutal. One, 2, 3, 7, and 14 days postoperatively, 40 mg/kg 13Cmet was intravenously injected into the femoral vein, and the increase in exhaled 13CO2 (Δ13CO2) was measured for 15 min. Simple laparotomy was performed in control rats. Following the breath test, the regenerated liver was removed and weighed. The amount of DNA was determined. Results. The correlation coefficients (r) between liver weight/body weight (LW/BW) and results of the 13Cmet breath test, and between DNA and results of the 13Cmet breath test were 0.892 and 0.800, respectively. Conclusions. The 13Cmet breath test is considered to be very useful for assessing liver regeneration, and total 13CO2 output over 15 min in the 13Cmet breath test graph seems to be an effective indicator for evaluating liver regeneration.