CARNITINE CONTENTS IN REMNANT LIVER, KIDNEY, AND SKELETAL-MUSCLE AFTER PARTIAL-HEPATECTOMY IN RATS - RANDOMIZED TRIAL

Carnitine, an important carrier of free fatty acid that is transported into mitochondria for beta-oxidation, was thought to be one of the ke y factors in the regulation of liver regeneration, If the carnitine co ntent is insufficient in the hepatocyte, it might impair the energy su bstrate's transport and the energy charge required for cell regenerati on. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the changes of carnitine content in remnant liver, kidney, and skeletal muscle simultaneously a fter partial hepatectomy in rats, Partial hepatectomy with resection o f the median and left lateral lobes was performed on male Wistar rats, Rats with a sham operation comprised a control group, This study was an experimental randomized trial, Ten rats from each group were sacrif iced before the operation and at 6, 24, 48, and 72 hours after the ope ration. The carnitine content, as total and free forms, in remnant liv er, kidney, and skeletal muscle were quantified by high-performance li quid chromatography. The carnitine contents in the remnant liver incre ased significantly at 6, 24, and 48 hours after partial hepatectomy (p < 0.01). The increase of total carnitine content was more obvious tha n that of the free form, In contrast, the decreasing concentrations of total carnitine and free carnitine in the kidney were significant (p < 0.01), In skeletal muscle the total carnitine content decreased to a small extent, and it was observed only at 6 hours after partial hepat ectomy (p < 0.05). It is suggested that remnant liver promoted the gen eration of carnitine, whereas kidney and skeletal muscle released thei r stored carnitine at an early stage after partial hepatectomy. As a r esult, the influx of the carnitine into hepatocytes increased at the r egenerative stage, The carnitine content of remnant liver is sufficien t during the early posthepatectomy stage.