[A cytofluorimetric study of the glycogen content and of the enzymatic activity of its metabolism in human and animal hepatocytes in liver cirrhosis and during rehabilitation].

Reversibility of hepatocyte functional activity is shown by cytofluorometric and microbiochemical methods in human and rat liver during postcirrhosis rehabilitation. Contents of the total glycogen and its fractions in liver cells were defined on smears of isolated hepatocytes obtained from the live puncture liver biopsies. A double increase of glycogen level is shown, in average, in hepatocytes during experimental liver cirrhosis in rats. At the same time, a relative content of the hard soluble fraction of glycogen increases by 5-8 times. The glycogen level falls to reach the norm already within one month after shutting off the pathogenic influence. However, in some animals after 6 months this level becomes even lower than the normal one. Again, the ratio between the hard soluble fraction and light one remains. In men with cirrhosis glycogenosis of hepatocytes can be expressed in greater degree (increase by 4-5 times): it depends on the illness heaviness. Further changes in glycogen content depend on the pathological process development. Under experimental cirrhosis the activity of glucose-6-phosphatase decreases by 4.3 times. Within one month after stopping the pathogenic influence the activity of this enzyme increases by 3-4 times, but later, in 6 months, it decreases to reach 55-65% of the norm. No actual changes were observed in the activities of other enzymes.