Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Effect of Diverting the Portal Circulation Upon Toxicity of Proteose Fractions.

1930; SAGE Publishing; Volume: 28; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3181/00379727-28-5247

1535-3702

J. Thomas McClintock, H. M. Hines,

Drug-Induced Hepatotoxicity and Protection

Certain similarities in the pathological changes in the intestine caused by acute ligation of the portal vein to those produced by a lethal dose of toxic proteose fractions suggested to us the following experiments. Toxic material was extracted from the mucosa and content of closed intestinal loops. Its toxicity was tested by giving an intravenous injection of aliquot portions of the material to 4 normal control dogs. All 4 controls developed the characteristic symptoms of vomiting, bloody diarrhea, prostration and coma. Death took place within 10 hours after the injection. At post mortem the mucosa of the small intestine was found to have the typical hemorrhagic condition. Aliquot portions of the same material were injected into 4 dogs in which the portal circulation had been diverted from the liver through collateral veins directly into the systemic circulation by a 2-stage ligation of the main trunk of portal vein. Three of the dogs with portal ligation survived the lethal dose without showing the symptoms of toxemia usually seen after such injections. One of the survivors was sacrificed 48 hours later and the mucosa of the small intestine appeared entirely normal. Three months later one of those which had survived was given a second lethal dose of material of proven toxicity and it again failed to show the usual symptoms. The fourth dog with a diverted portal circulation showed the usual symptoms and died within 15 hours after receiving the toxic material. The characteristic hemorrhagic mucosa was found at post mortem but because of adhesions it was impossible to make certain of a complete diversion of the portal circulation. The fact that 3 dogs out of 4 with their portal circulation diverted from the liver survived injections of a lethal dose of a toxic pro-teose fraction is strongly indicative of a more or less complete acute hepatic portal occlusion as the probable cause of the bloody diarrhea and hemorrhagic mucosa which results from such injections. It is believed that this intestinal condition is a major factor in causing the death of such animals.