Prostaglandins and CC1₄-Induced Liver Cell Mortality: The Effect of the Prostaglandin Analogue Enprostil

Abstract

Prostaglandins have been reported to reduce the carbon tetrachloride (CCI₄)-induced liver cell injury in rats. The object of the present experiments was to examine the effect of the prostaglandin E₂ analogue enprostil on the survival of isolated liver cells exposed to CC1₄. Liver parenchymal cells were isolated from rat livers by collagenase perfusion and released into a ‘suspension’ buffer. Aliquots of the cell suspension were incubated with 1 μg or 0.5 μg CC1₄, and to parallel test suspensions 20 ng enprostil was added 5–10 min before CC1₄. Incubation was performed on ice, at room temperature, and at 37±C. The average percentage of dead cells after CC1₄ treatment was significantly reduced by pretreatment with enprostil at room temperature (1 μg CC1₄: 69 ± 21% and 44 + 13%, respectively) and after 10 min of incubation at 37±C (1 μg C1₄: 56 ± 25% and 37 ± 27%; 0.5 μg CC1₄: 51 ± 33% and 29 ± 18%, respectively). When the liver cell mortality approximated 100% after long-term incubation at 37±C, no protective effect of enprostil was observed.

Key Words:

• Carbon tetrachloride
• liver cells
• isolated
• prostaglandin analogue
• enprostil