Acute responses of blood ketone body ratio following devascularization and revascularization of rabbit liver.

Acute changes associated with anhepatic and revascularized state were analyzed in relation to mitochondrial energy metabolism in rabbits. Fifteen minutes after the induction of anhepatic state, the ketone body ratio in the arterial blood decreased markedly from 0.833 to 0.229. The ketone body concentration also decreased to 24% of the normal value. The blood ketone body ratio and concentration remained low during the next 45 min. Pyruvate and lactate levels and the pyruvate/lactate ratio in the arterial blood changed very little during the 60-min anhepatic state. In a revascularization model following a 15-min anhepatic state, the ketone body concentration rose rapidly and then declined gradually, finally attaining a constant level at 30 min. The decreased blood ketone body ratio recovered to 0.55 at 30 min, and achieved steady state thereafter. Mitochondrial phosphorylative activity and hepatic energy charge showed almost normal levels 60 min after revascularization following the 15-min anhepatic state. These results indicate that the rapid metabolic alterations associated with the anhepatic and revascularized state can be accurately determined by measuring the arterial blood ketone body ratio, and they suggest that the ketone body ratio may serve as a convenient parameter for the evaluation of liver viability in pathological states such as operative ischemia or liver transplantation.