A mixture of nucleosides and a nucleotide alters hepatic energy metabolism 24 hours after hepatectomy in rabbits.

The effect of administering a nucleoside-nucleotide mixture on hepatic energy metabolism was evaluated at 24 h after hepatectomy in rabbits that had had 70% of their livers removed. After hepatectomy, animals were administered continuous intravenous infusion of 2 mL/(kg body wt-h) of 9 g/L NaCl (Group S), 5.99 mmol/L nucleoside-nucleotide mixture (Group N1) or 11.98 mmol/L nucleoside-nucleotide mixture (Group N2). At 24 h after hepatectomy, the hepatic adenylate energy charge in Group S (0.83 +/- 0.01, mean +/- SEM) was significantly lower than that before hepatectomy (0.90 +/- 0.01). By contrast, the values in Groups N1 and N2 after hepatectomy (0.74 +/- 0.04 and 0.73 +/- 0.04, respectively) were significantly lower than that in Group S. The hepatic mitochondrial phosphorylation rate before hepatectomy was 46.40 +/- 4.88 nmol ATP/(mg mitochondrial protein-min). After hepatectomy, significantly greater values were observed in Groups N1 and N2 (69.53 +/- 7.20 and 63.31 +/- 6.11, respectively), yet those values were less than observed in Group S (109.14 +/- 4.80). These results suggest that the nucleoside-nucleotide mixture suppressed the enhancement of hepatic mitochondrial phosphorylative activity at a time when hepatic adenylate energy charge is compromised. Such enhancement is needed to compensate for the increased energy expenditure due to surgical intervention.