Assessment of hepatic graft injury by graft effluent in rodents: JV-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase and type III procollagen peptide

We studied the significance of N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase (β-NAG) and type III procollagen peptide (P-III-P) in the effluent of rodent hepatic grafts. After total hepatectomy, the livers were preserved in chilled, lactated Ringer's solution and then divided into five groups (n = 10 each): group 1, 4 h preservation only; group 2, 4 h preservation and rewarming; group 3, 6 h preservation only; group 4, 6 h preservation and rewarming; and group 5, minimal preservation only. The β-NAG of groups 2 and 4 was significantly higher than that of groups 1 and 3 (0.98 ±0.5 U/l vs 0.21 ±0.12 U/l; P < 0.01 and 1.76 ±0.67 U/l vs 0.38 ±0.25 U/l, respectively; P < 0.01), while that of group 4 was significantly higher than that of group 2 (1.76 ±0.67 U/l vs 0.98 ±0.50 U/l; P < 0.05). The P-IIIP of group 4 was significantly higher than that of group 2 (0.133 ± 0.008 U/ml vs 0.110 ±0.015 U/ml; P < 0.01). We conclude that β-NAG is a novel parameter of parenchymal and nonparenchymal cells, while P-III-P reflects the integrity of the hepatic sinusoidal extracellular matrix.