Investigations on acetaminophen-induced liver injury using an ex-vivo perfusion model with human liver sections

Introduction: A perfusion system for human liver sections able to keep hepatic functionality for up to 30 hours was applied to study liver damage mediated by acetaminophen (APAP) in a human tissue based model. Methods: Perfusions were performed for 30 hours and hourly taken samples from the perfusate were analyzed for markers of general metabolism, hepatic synthesis capacity and liver cell damage. APAP was added after 8h with amounts relative to the liver weight (6.5 mg/g). N-Acetylcysteine was added after 20h to reduce liver damage in the course of perfusion. Liver function was determined by clearance of indocy…