Effects of methylprednisolone on protein synthesis and blood flow in the postischemic liver.

The effects of methylprednisolone (MP) on hepatic protein synthesis and blood flow following liver ischemia were studied in rats. Ischemia was induced by occluding all blood vessels to the left and median liver lobes during 1 hr and the experiments were continued for 2 hr following reperfusion. Protein synthesis was studied by determining rate of leucine incorporation into proteins in incubated liver slices. Hepatic blood flow was measured by xenon washout technique. One group of animals received MP intravenously (30 mg/kg) before induction of liver ischemia; one group was given the same dose of MP after ischemia; control rats received saline. Protein synthesis was reduced to the same extent at the end of the ischemic period in rats pretreated with MP as in control animals. During reperfusion, however, protein synthesis was restored faster and more completely both in animals receiving MP before and after ischemia than in control rats. No effects of MP on blood flow or adenine nucleotides in liver tissue were found. This study confirms previous reports on beneficial effects of glucocorticoids in liver ischemia and demonstrates improvement of one important hepatocellular function in the postischemic liver following administration of MP.