Experimental research on TECA-I bioartificial liver support system to treat canines with acute liver failure

AIM To evaluate the efficacy and safety of the TECA-1 bioartificial liver support system (BALSS) in treating canines with acute liver failure (ALF). METHODS Ten canines with ALF induced by 80% liver resection received BALSS treatment ( BALSS group). Blood was perfused through a hollow fiber tube containing 1 x 10(10) porcine hepatocytes. Four canines with ALF were treated with BALSS without porcine hepatocytes (control group), and five canines with ALF received drug treatment (drug group). Each treatment lasted 6 hours. RESULTS BALSS treatment yielded beneficial effects for partial liver resection-induced ALF canines with survival and decreased plasma ammonia, ALT, AST and BIL. There was an obvious decrease in PT level and increase in PA level, and there were no changes in the count of lymphocytes, immunoglobulins (IgA, IgG and IgM) and complement (C3 and C4) levels after BALSS treatment. In contrast, for the canines with ALF in non-hepatocyte BALSS group (control group) and drug group, there were no significant changes in ammonia, ALT, AST, BIL, PT and PA levels. ALF canines in BALSS group, control group and drug group lived respectively an average time of 108.0 h +/- 12.0 h, 24.0 h +/- 6.0 h and 20.4 h +/- 6.4h, and three canines with ALF survived in BALSS group. CONCLUSION TECA-1 BALSS is efficacious and safe for ALF canines induced by parcial liver resection.