Acid hydrolases in the rabbit in haemorrhagic shock.

Abstract

Haemorrhagic shock was induced in rabbits by removal of 20 to 33 ml./kg of blood in up to 5 hr. Following haemorrhage there were on average 4 to 5‐fold increases in the levels of β‐glucuronidase, N‐acetyl‐β‐D‐glucosaminidase, acid ribonuclease and cathepsin D in the circulating plasma. Acid phosphatase levels fell at first, approximately parallel with the fall in the level of protein, and rose only when the animal was near death from haemorrhagic shock. Several experiments in which thoracic duct and hepatic lymph were collected showed that the lymphatic pathway was not essential for the increased levels of acid hydrolases in the plasma following haemorrhage. Biochemical and histochemical studies on the liver and proximal ileum indicated an increased permeability of the lysosomal membranes in these two regions. The results pointed to the liver as the likely source of origin of the increased circulating plasma levels of acid hydrolases in the rabbit in haemorrhagic shock.