Laboratory Animals > Volume 42, Number 4 > Pp. 495-504

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Quantitative rat liver function test by galactose single point method

T H Young ^* , H S Tang , Y C Chao , H S Lee , C H Hsiong ^**, L H Pao ^** and O Y P Hu ^**  

^* Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC; Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Cardinal Tien Hospital, Fu Jen Catholic University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC; Department of Internal Medicine, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC; Department of Pathology, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC; ^** School of Pharmacy, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC; Department of Research and Development, National Defense Medical Center, 161 Minchuan East Road, Sector 6, Taipei, Taiwan 114, ROC

Correspondence: O Y P Hu. Email: hyp{at}ndmctsgh.edu.tw

The purpose of this study was to investigate the galactose single point (GSP) method, a residual liver function test recently recommended by the US Food and Drug Administration, which can be a useful tool for rat liver function measurement. Rats were treated either with carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) alone (1 mL/kg, intraperitoneally [i.p.]) for one day or with isoniazid (INH) alone (150 mg/kg, i.p.) or (in order to ameliorate the effects of INH) with a combination of INH and bis-p-nitrophenyl phosphate (BNPP) (25 mg/kg, i.p.) for 21 days. Hepatotoxicity was assayed by plasma aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activities and scores of histological activity index-necroinflammation (HAI-NI) of the respective liver specimens. The GSP method in rats was defined by the galactose blood level after 60 min. Significant differences in GSP values were observed between controls and the CCl₄-treated rats. After 21 days of treatment, no significant changes in AST and ALT values were observed among the control, INH and INH-BNPP groups. There were significant differences in average GSP values for controls (P < 0.001) and INH-BNPP (P < 0.001) compared with INH alone. Highly significant correlations (P < 0.001) were obtained between GSP and scores of HAI-NI for all the groups. GSP was concluded to be a more sensitive biomarker of INH-induced hepatotoxicity than AST or ALT in the rats. The GSP method has been proved to be a simple and useful tool for the quantitative determination of liver function in rats, which can possibly be extended to other animals.

Key Words: Galactose single point method • quantitative liver function • rat • isoniazid • hepatotoxicity

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