Glucose tolerance and respiratory activities of human liver biopsies: their interdependence.

To determine a possible relation of hepatic oxidative activity to glucose metabolism, the rates of oxygen consumption of liver slices from patients with chronic liver diseases were polarographically measured. The livers from patients with chronic (persistent and aggressive) hepatitis and with normal glucose tolerance showed almost the same respiratory activity as those from patients with normal livers and normal glucose tolerance, whereas the livers from patients with chronic hepatitis and with diabetic glucose tolerance (ie, diabetes mellitus secondary to chronic hepatitis) showed only a half the normal level. The decreased rate of respiration was also observed in liver slices from cirrhotics with glucose intolerance. The decrease in respiration was found in patients with normal or hyperinsulinemia as well as hypoinsulinemia responding to oral glucose load. No liver tests so far examined, except the oral glucose tolerance test, correlated with hepatic respiratory activity. It is concluded that in patients with chronic liver diseases the defect of liver respiration has a close relation to the glucose metabolism and is not necessarily associated with histological change of the liver.