PhD Scientific Days 2023

Translational Medicine - Posters O

The Effect of Physical Prehabilitation on Induced Liver Regeneration After Partial Hepatectomy

Text of the abstract

Introduction: In the case of liver tumors the only curative treatment is liver resection, which can be a major surgical stress for patients, whose physical and nutritional status is inadequate. Additionally, in the postoperative period, catabolism is increased which could increase the morbidity and mortality rates. Prehabilitation could be easily applied to younger patients, while pharmacological therapy could be useful for elderly patients as it could improve their physical and nutritional status. Therefore, we studied the effect of physical prehabilitation on induced liver regeneration with special emphasis on the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK).
Aims: Studying the role of AMPK during liver regeneration induced by hepatectomy.
Method: 72 male Wistar rats were divided into control (C), physically prehabilitated (PP), and inhibited (I) groups. The C group was kept in the animal house for 5 weeks, while the PP and I groups had to run 5 times a week for a 5-week-long period. Additionally, the I group was injected with intraperitoneal injection of an AMPK inhibitor. After 5 weeks, animals were operated, and sacrificed after 0,24,72, and 168 postoperative hours. Metabolic status (bodyweight (bw) and composition (bc), intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (IPGTT)), liver function (laboratory parameters, bile production, ICG (indocyanine green) clearance), and volumetric changes (regeneration rate (RR)) were investigated.
Results: The metabolic status, functional, and volumetric liver regeneration were favorable in the PP group compared to the C group. The I group was significantly deficient compared to the PP and the C groups following hepatectomy. The IPGTT was elevated while bw was increased in the I group compared to C and PP groups. Laboratory parameters were significantly increased, but bc, bile production, ICG clearance, and RR were significantly decreased in the I groups compared to the C and PP groups.
Conclusion: We showed that the AMPK could have a principal role in liver regeneration after hepatectomy and could be a potential target molecule for pharmacologic prehabilitation.
Funding: This study was supported by the Semmelweis University 250+ PhD Excellence Grant (121432/DIDIT/2022) and New National Excellence Program of the Ministry for Culture and Innovation from the source of the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund(ÚNKP-22-3-I-SE-2)