Liver regeneration after partial
hepatectomy is accompanied by altered hepatic intermediary metabolism. Because the
organochlorine compound mirex also causes liver cell growth, the purpose of this study was to investigate hepatic
carbohydrate and
oxygen metabolism in perfused livers from
mirex-treated rats and to localize cell proliferation in this model. Pretreatment with
mirex (100 mg/kg, intragastrically) increased liver/
body weight ratios and
DNA synthesis in livers of fed rats, effects that were markedly diminished in livers of fasted rats. This finding shows that liver growth caused by
mirex, as is the case after partial
hepatectomy, is hindered when animals are deprived of food. Furthermore, perfused livers from
mirex-treated rats had depleted
glycogen stores but significantly elevated
oxygen uptake compared with livers from control rats. Increases in
oxygen uptake and hepatocellular proliferation were observed mostly in periportal regions of the liver lobule. In regenerating livers, most
DNA synthesis was reported to also occur in these regions of the liver lobule. Taken together, these data show that liver cell growth caused by
mirex is accompanied by changes in hepatic intermediary metabolism and sublobular proliferation similar to those observed after partial
hepatectomy.