TITLE:
The Use of Erythropoietin in Liver Regeneration in Pigs after Partial Hepatectomy
AUTHORS:
Henrique de Aguiar Wiederkehr, Caroline Aragão de Carvalho, Julio Cesar Wiederkehr, Ricardo Ribeiro Gama, Eros Luiz de Sousa, Teresa Cristina Cavalcanti, Taíse Fuchs, Barbara de Aguiar Wiederkehr, Lucas Mansano Sarquis
KEYWORDS:
Liver Regeneration, Partial Hepatectomy, Erythropoietin, Pigs
JOURNAL NAME:
Surgical Science,
Vol.6 No.11,
November
24,
2015
ABSTRACT: A partial hepatectomy is a surgical procedure performed during the
living-donor liver transplantation and sometimes the only option for patients
with hepatocarcinoma. However the remnant liver after the hepatectomy is still
a major concern. Therefore, the process of liver regeneration has been a
constant theme of study in order to optimize this process. Erythropoietin, a
hormone produced by the kidney and involved in protecting organs like heart,
liver and kidney itself against injuries can be one of these factors that could
accelerate the liver regeneration. This study aims to observe if erythropoietin
can accelerate the process of liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy in
pigs. Methods: 8 pigs were classified into 2 groups of 4 pigs each: the control
group and the test group. The animals in the first group underwent an
application of saline solution subcutaneous on the day before the hepatectomy.
Instead of saline solution, the test groups received a subcutaneous injection
of 200 UI/lg of recombinant erythropoietin also on the day before the surgical
procedure. After 7 days since the hepatectomy, in each animal the liver was
biopsied in two regions, one next to the hepatectomy section and other far from
it. The liver regeneration was analyzed using Ki-67. Results: Pigs from control
group presented the following results: Control pig I: 30% of regeneration in
the hepatectomy section and 10% in the region far from it; control pig II 24%
and 4%; control pig III 27% and 7%. The test group presented no significant
liver regeneration since Ki-67 could not identify cell proliferation in neither
the biopsied areas. Conclusion: Since the number of pigs was not statistically
significant, we could not conclude any further hypothesis. We strong believe
that enhancing the number of pigs and testing different doses, we will be able
to reach further conclusions.