An experimental study on the effects of membrane molecular weight cut off on a novel bioartificial liver system

Abstract

Objective To study the effects of membrane molecular weight cut off on a novel bioartificial liver(BAL) system.Methods Healthy beagles underwent 6-hour treatment with a BAL containing membrane with 200 kDa retention rating or 1200 kDa retention rating.The functional changes and cell viability were characterized.Results Hepatocyte performance levels such as albumin secretion,urea synthesis and viability were significantly higher in the 200 kDa retention rating group when compared with the 1200 kDa retention rating group (P＜0.05).Significant levels of canine proteins were detected in the BAL medium from the 1200 kDa retention rating group.Fluorescence microscopy further verified that heavy deposition of canine IgG,IgM and complement (C3) on co-culture cells were obtained after BAL treatment in the 1200 kDa retention rating group.Conclusions Small membrane molecular weight cut off of BAL could reduce the transfer of xenoreactive antibodies into the BAL medium and improved the performance of the BAL. Key words: Bioartificial liver; Membrane molecular weight cut off; Hepatocytes