The effect of D-galactosamine on lean and steatotic rat hepatocytes in primary culture

• Published in: Physiological research Vol. 64; no. Suppl 5; pp. S637 - S646
• Main Authors: Kučera, O, Lotková, H, Sobotka, O, Červinková, Z
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Czech Republic Institute of Physiology 01.01.2015
• Subjects: Analgesics; Animals; Apoptosis; Apoptosis - drug effects; Biomarkers - metabolism; Cells, Cultured; Disease Models, Animal; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Experiments; Galactosamine - pharmacology; Gangrene; Hepatocytes - drug effects; Hepatocytes - metabolism; Hepatocytes - pathology; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase - metabolism; Laboratory animals; Lipid peroxidation; Lipid Peroxidation - drug effects; Lipids; Liver; Liver diseases; Male; Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial - drug effects; Metabolism; Mitochondria; Mitochondria, Liver - drug effects; Mitochondria, Liver - metabolism; Mitochondria, Liver - pathology; Necrosis; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease - metabolism; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease - pathology; Oxidative stress; Primary Cell Culture; Rats, Wistar; Reactive Oxygen Species - metabolism; Rodents
• ISSN: 0862-8408; 1802-9973
• DOI: 10.33549/physiolres.933225

The aim of our work was to compare the effect of D-galactosamine (GalN) on primary cultures of lean and steatotic rat hepatocytes isolated from intact and fatty liver, respectively. GalN caused more severe injury to steatotic hepatocytes than to lean cells as documented by lactate dehydrogenase leakage. Necrotic mode of cell death strongly prevails over apoptosis since we did not observe any significant increase in activities of caspase 3, 8 and 9 in any group of hepatocytes treated with GalN. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation and lipid peroxidation were elevated in a dose-dependent manner by GalN and were significantly more pronounced in fatty hepatocytes. A decrease in the percentage of hepatocytes with energized mitochondria was observed from 30 mM and 10 mM GalN in lean and steatotic hepatocytes, respectively. Our results undoubtedly indicate that steatotic hepatocytes exert higher sensitivity to the toxic effect of GalN. This sensitivity may be caused by more intensive GalN-induced ROS production and lipid peroxidation and by higher susceptibility of mitochondria to loss of mitochondrial membrane potential in steatotic hepatocytes. In our experimental arrangement, apoptosis does not seem to participate considerably on hepatotoxic action of GalN in either group of hepatocytes.