Study summary · research use only
[Effect of "vilon" on cirrhotically changed rat liver. Liver regeneration, and status of glycogen-forming function of hepatocytes]
Plain-language summary
Paraphrased from the published abstract below — not a verdict on whether anything works.
In this rat study, researchers examined effects of the dipeptide preparation Vilon on liver regeneration and glycogen-related hepatocyte function after cirrhosis induced by 4 months of carbon tetrachloride poisoning. One group received no further treatment, while another received Vilon (1.7 micrograms/kg) daily for 5 days. Glucose-6-phosphatase (G6P) activity, reduced 1.2 times in cirrhosis, was reported as elevated 2 weeks after Vilon administration, while untreated rats' glycogen content, fractions, and G6P activity remained at cirrhotic levels. Glycogen phosphorylase and glycogen synthase activities did not differ between groups. The authors report that Vilon-treated hepatocytes had total protein content and ploidy levels higher than untreated rats by 4.7 and 11.5%, respectively, describing this as a weak stimulating effect on regeneration of the cirrhotically altered liver.
Abstract
Effects of a dipeptide preparation "Vilon" on rehabilitation of functional activity of hepatocytes and regeneration of the cirrhotically altered rat liver were studied. The liver cirrhosis was produced by poisoning of rats for 4 months with carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). On the end of the poisoning with CCl4, one group of animals was not submitted to any further actions, whereas animals of the other group were injected "Vilon" (1.7 micrograms/kg) daily for 5 days. On smears of isolated hepatocytes, contents of total glycogen (TG), and its labile and stable fractions (LF and SF) were determined in addition to cell ploidy levels and the total protein content. In liver homogenates, activities of glucose-6-phosphatase (G6P), glycogen synthase (GS), and glycogen phosphorylase (GP) were measured. In 2 weeks after the drug application, G6P activity being reduced in cirrhosis 1.2 times, elevated under effect of "Vilon". In non-treated rats the contents of TG and its fractions and of G6P activity remained at the level characteristic of the cirrhotic liver prior to "Vilon" administration. In both groups of rats, GP and GS activities in the cirrhotically altered liver did not differ from their control values throughout the entire experiment. "Vilon" has been shown to exert a weak stimulating effect on regeneration of the cirrotically altered rat liver: in hepatocytes of the second group of rats the total protein content and ploidy levels were higher than those in the first group by 4.7 and 11.5%, respectively.
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