Metabolism of rat liver cells during incubation in cold UW solution

Simple cold storage of livers for transplantation activates glycolysis due to lack of oxygen. Energy derived from glycolysis may be critical for cell survival and liver cell death may occur once glycolysis is inhibited in the liver due to accumulation of end products or lack of substrates (glycogen). The relationship between cell death (lactate dehydrogenase, LDH release). anaerobic glycolysis (lactate production), and glycogen content of liver tissue was studied during cold incubation of liver slices in UW solution. Rat livers slices from male Sprague Dawley rats were incubated at 4 degrees C in UW solution, with continuous gentle shaking, under conditions of chemical hypoxia (KCN, 5 mM). The rate of lactate production, LDH release, ATP and glycogen content were measured spectrophotometrically and by HPLC. Lactate increased nearly linearly for the first 45 h of incubation: total lactate which had accumulated after 48 h was 33.9+/-0.81 mu mol/g and at 96 h nearly the same, 31.3+/-1.2 mu mol/g. Glycolysis stopped, apparently, because of the depletion of liver slice glycogen which was initially 238.8+/-1.7 mu mol/g wet wt. It decreased to 34.7+/-2.7 mu mol/g at 48 h and to 18.7+/-1.1 mu mol/g at 72 h and remained at this level for the next 24 h. An increased leakage of LDH occurred once glycogen metabolism land accumulation) ceased. LDH release could be stimulated after only a few hours of cold incubation of liver tissue slices by adding glycolysis inhibitor (iodoacetic acid) to the medium. After 24 h, LDH release was 24.4+/-1.8% and increased to 52.8+/-5.2% (P<0.05, Student's t-test) with iodoacetic acid. Adding a glycolytic substrate (fructose, 10 mM) to the medium maintained lactate production for 96 h. The Stimulation of glycolysis by fructose also reduced cell death: LDH release was significantly lower at 72- and 96-h incubation (P<0.001, two-way ANOVA). The ATP content was significantly higher with fructose (P<0.001). Adding glucose (20 mM) and fructose (10 mM) in combination resulted in prolonged cell survival, significantly delayed glycogen depletion and significantly higher ATP content at 48 and 72 h (two-way ANOVA). Livers from rats who had fasted for 24 h demonstrated the same LDH release at 48 h when incubated with glucose (20 mM) and fructose (10 mM). In conclusion, LDH leakage from hypoxic cold-stored liver slices is related to anaerobic glycolysis. Anaerobic glycolysis appears to continue slowly under hypothermia and provides sufficient energy for maintenance of cell viability. A stimulation of glycolysis in the cold is possible by fructose and results in prolonged cell survival under hypothermic conditions. Glyco gen depletion can be slowed down by combining glucose and fructose.