Plasma lysozyme level and reticuloendothelial system function in human liver disease

Plasma lysozyme levels have been reported to reflect the functional status of the reticuloendothelial system (RES). We measured plasma lysozyme levels in 22 patients with acute hepatitis and 21 patients with cirrhosis and a mesocaval shunt. In 17 of these patients RES function was assessed by measuring the disappearance rate (t/2) of radio-labelled sulphur colloid. In acute hepatitis plasma lysozyme levels and colloid t/2 were significantly lower than in healthy controls and cirrhotics. In the acute hepatitis patients, the plasma lysozyme levels rose significantly two weeks after admission as the hepatitis improved. The colloid t/2 of the 17 patients with liver disease was significantly correlated with the plasma lysozyme level (r = +0.66, p = 0.005).These results suggest that in human liver disease, in comparison with animal experiments, plasma lysozyme is dependent on RES functional status in the sense that a more active RES will result in a lower lysozyme level.     

Quantitative reticuloendothelial function of liver and spleen in man

Summary. A method for separate determinations of liver and spleen reticuloendothelial function, using a small-size ⁹⁹Tc^m-antimony sulphide colloid and gamma camera technique, is described. Several methods for achieving blood-background correction are examined, and it is shown that, by a three-compartment model, the use of a specific blood pool tracer can be dispensed with. Hepatic and splenic uptake of the colloid can be described by first order kinetics, and can be calculated to an error less than 5%. In a reference material (n=13), hepatic and splenic clearance was 262 ml/min (100412) and 22 ml/min (0–62), respectively. In cirrhosis (n=7), hepatic clearance was decreased and splenic clearance increased. The results indicate that this method, which is well suited for clinical studies and which is based on a reasonable physiologic model, in cirrhosis of the liver demonstrates a decreased hepatic reticuloendothelial function with (compensatory?) increase in that of the spleen.     

Effects of methylprednisolone on the Fc-receptor function of human reticuloendothelial system in vivo

Abstract. To determine whether the Fc-receptor function of reticuloendothelial system (RES) is modified by corticosteroid administration, we studied the spleen to liver uptake ratios of autologous, ⁹⁹Tc-labelled heatdamaged or IgG-coated erythrocytes, injected intravenously into 10 normal volunteers, 4 h after receiving a single dose of 32 mg of methylprednisolone by mouth.
In standard conditions, quantitative scans indicated that the spleen to liver uptake ratios, calculated per unit area 40 min after the injection of labelled erythrocytes, were 13·4 ± 0·6 and 31·2 ± 1·5 (mean values ± -SEM), for the heat-damaged ( n = 7) and IgG-coated red cells ( n = 5) respectively. Four hours after corticosteroid administration, the spleen to liver uptake ratios were significantly reduced in five of ten volunteers. Abnormal ratios correlated with the Fc-receptor function of monocytes measured in vitro using IgG-coated erythrocytes. Indeed, 2–6 h after methylprednisolone was given, the Fc-receptor binding activity of monocytes isolated from the same five subjects was reduced by at least 50%, spontaneously returning to a rather normal value 4–6 h later. The C3-receptor binding activity of these monocytes remained normal, after otherwise identical experimental conditions.
These results show a transient, specific impairment of the Fc-receptor function of RES after methylprednisolone administration, and may therefore explain, in part, the infectious complications occurring in some patients treated by corticosteroids.     

Uptake of liposomes and sheep red blood cells by the liver and spleen of rats with normal or decreased function of the reticuloendothelial system

The distribution of negatively charged liposomes in rats with normal or depressed function of the liver RES was examined. RES activity was determined by the uptake of the sheep red blood cells (SRBC). Whereas pretreatment with colloidal carbon or dextran sulphate drastically diminishes the SRBC uptake by the liver, the liposome uptake is decreased by 12-15% only. In the spleen, such pretreatment boosts the SRBC uptake five- to sixfold, whereas liposome uptake was decreased by about 50%. This indicates that phagocytosis by the RES is only of several liposome-cell interactions. Consequently, the suppression of the RES function is of no practical use when attempting to suppress the preferential liposome uptake by the liver and spleen.     

The significance of activation of reticuloendothelial function on hepatectomy

The prognosis of patients after massive hepatectomy is poor in certain cases whose hepatic reserve, including reticuloendothelial function, is deteriorated. We administered OK-432 before 70% hepatectomy on rats to activate the reticuloendothelial function and studied its effect on postoperative course. The elevations in plasma endotoxin, GOT and GTP were attenuated, and the deterioration of the complement activity after hepatectomy was greatly improved by OK-432 treatment. The RNA content in the liver was significantly increased by OK-432 administration. These findings suggest that activation of the reticuloendothelial function at the time of massive hepatectomy enhances endotoxin clearance from blood and thereby contributes in lessening the magnitude of hepatic injury, maintaining the serum complement, and improving liver protein synthesis.     

Changes in the reticuloendothelial phagocytic function after partial hepatectomy

The changes in the phagocytic function of the reticuloendothelial (RE) system after 67% hepatectomy in rats were studied by use of 51Cr-endotoxin as the phagocytable material. The humoral opsonic index was significantly increased to approximately 1.2 to 1.8 (control, 1.0 +/- 0.2, mean +/- SD) until the fourteenth postoperative day. In contrast, the phagocytic index was decreased to 0.068 +/- 0.016 (control, 0.103 +/- 0.015) on the first day, then returned to the normal level on the second day. In this early postoperative period, uptake rates of 51Cr-endotoxin in the liver were remarkably decreased to about 50% to 70% of control, whereas those in the spleen and lung were increased two- to threefold of control. From the third to the fourteenth day, the phagocytic index was significantly increased compared with the preoperative level. During this period, the uptake rates in the liver and spleen were within the normal range. These results suggest that the increases in the opsonic index of 67% hepatectomized rats represent the homeostatic response for maintaining or stimulating RE system phagocytic function, and that high or normal phagocytic index, concomitant with the increase in the opsonic index, implies an enhanced or compensatory stage, respectively. The decrease in the phagocytic index despite the high opsonic index is assumed to represent a compromised stage of the RE system.