Adaptive increase of respiratory enzymes in the mitochondria from cirrhotic livers of patients and rats, and its relationship to glucose tolerance.

Oxidative phosphorylation and respiratory enzyme concentrations of liver mitochondria and glucose tolerance were studied in 12 cirrhotic patients and CCl4-induced cirrhotic rats. The cirrhotic patients with normal or higher concentrations of cytochrome a(+a3) showed parabolic glucose tolerance test (GTT) patterns having return of blood glucose level somewhat toward normal within two hours and tolerated major operations well, while three patients with cytochrome a(+a3) concentrations less than 60 per cent of normal (0.81 +/- 0.02 (mean +/- SEM) X 10(-10) moles/mg protein) could not tolerate even minor operations. In CCl4-induced cirrhotic rats, cytochrome a(+a3) concentrations varied from 1.5 to 3.0 X 10(-10) moles/mg protein as compared with 1.8 +/- 0.1 of controls. In mitochondria with normal or higher concentrations of cytochrome a(+a3), the oxidative and phosphorylative activities per unit of cytochrome a(+a3) were negatively correlated with cytochrome a(+a3) concentrations. These rats tolerated partial hepatectomy well. However, in cirrhotic rats with subnormal cytochrome a(+a3) concentrations there was a high mortality following hepatectomy. The former showed parabolic GTT patterns, while the latter showed nonparabolic GTT patterns.