Delayed Hepatic Clearance of 99mTc-galactosyl-neoglycoalbumin with Decrease of Asialoglycoprotein Receptor in CCl4-induced Cirrhosis

Liver cirrhosis was introduced experimentally in rats by the long-term administration of carbon tetrachloride. Cirrhosis was apparent from increase in collagen content based on hydroxyproline determinationand from the histological evidence that fibrous tissue bands had completely encircled zones of hepatic parenchymal cells. In those rats, the amount of asialoglycoprotein receptor per gram liver weight decreased markedly, in inverse proportion to the collagen content, whereas the specific activity of the receptor did not change significantly. The decrease in the receptor content in cirrhosis appears to depend primarily on the decrease in the number of hepatocytes. In addition, the survival time of 99mTc-galactosylneoglycoalbumin which had been injected intravenously was prolonged in parallel with the advance of liver fibrosis. Hepatic clearance as expressed by the reciprocal of the half-life correlated well with the amount of asialoglycoprotein receptor. These results suggested that sequential measurement of the radioactivity of 99mTcgalactosyl-neoglycoalbumin in blood might be a simple, effective, noninvasive test for the estimation of functional hepatic mass.