ETHANOL AND HYDRAZINE SULFATE-INDUCED CHRONIC HEPATIC-INJURY IN RATS - THE CURATIVE EFFECT OF ADMINISTRATION OF GLUCOGENIC AMINO-ACIDS

There is a widespread belief that when ethanol is fed to rats for a lo ng time, it produces only fatty degeneration without necrosis or fibro sis. In this study, hydrazine sulfate, an inhibitor of low Km ALDH and gluconeogenetic enzymes, was fed with ethanol to rats, and produced m ore serious pathological changes compared with those found in Lieber's model. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed with a low fat liquid diet a s a basal diet with ethanol (4%, w/v) and hydrazine sulfate for 4 week s. At the end of the experiment, plasma aminotransferase levels were f ound to be elevated. Histological examination showed not only fatty de generation but also pericellular fibrosis. Therefore, we have evaluate d the curative effect of glucogenic amino acids, alanine and glutamine , on this hepatic injury model and found them to be partially protecti ve.