Evaluation of liver regeneration using the L-[1-C-13]methionine breath test

Background. We examined the relationship between changes in the liver weigh t/body weight percentage, amount of hepatic tissue total DNA, and the resul ts of the [1-C-13]methionine ((13)Cmet) breath test during hepatic regenera tion in a rat model of 70% hepatectomy, to assess their usefulness for eval uating hepatic regeneration. Materials and methods. Male Wistar rats (230-290 g) were subjected to 70% h epatectomy under anesthesia with Nembutal. One, 2, 3, 7, and 14 days postop eratively, 40 mg/kg (13)Cmet was intravenously injected into the femoral ve in, and the increase in exhaled (CO2)-C-13 (Delta (CO2)-C-13) measured for 15 min. Simple laparotomy was performed in control rats. Following the brea th test, the regenerated liver was removed and weighed. The amount of DNA w as determined. Results. The correlation coefficients (r) between liver weight/body weight (LW/BW) and results of the (13)Cmet breath test, and between DNA and result s of the (13)Cmet breath test were 0.892 and 0.800, respectively. Conclusions. The (13)Cmet breath test is considered to be very useful for a ssessing liver regeneration, and total (CO2)-C-13 output over 15 min in the 13Cmet breath test graph seems to be an effective indicator for evaluating Liver regeneration. (C) 2001 Academic Press.