Study on Experimental Alcoholic Liver Injury in Tupaia belangeri chinensis

Purpose In order to investigate the effect of alcohol on the liver of Tupaia belangeri chinensis and the ethanol concentration assay in blood.Method Tested 40 tree shrews were randomly divided into ethanol group (n=30) and control group (n=10) in the experiment. After the administration for 15 days and EDTA-K2 anticoagulation, the concentration of ethanol in the blood was determined at 1, 2, 3 and 12 h. At 30, 60 and 90 days after fasting 12 hours,the blood biochemical parameters of liver function were measured. The data were analyzed by SPSS software. The liver of the tested shrew was weighed using a Mettler Toledo analytical balance at 30, 60 and 90 days after the administration and then calculated the liver index. The liver was tested by HE staining, Masson staining and electron microscopy.Results The ethanol concentration in the blood of tree shrews was 153.94 ±11.25,165.84 ±7.10, 153.81 ±5.15,0 mg/dL at 1,2,3 and 12 h after alcohol administration, respectively. The ethanol concentration in blood of the control group was 0 mg/dL. ALT in the experiment group(181.65±39.86 u/L and 124.15±31.24 U/L) were significantly higher than those in the control group (79.73 ±10.71 U/L) at 30 days and 90 days (P<0.05), and AST in the experiment group (234.92±13.76 U/L) was significantly higher than that in the control group (200.10 ±20.08 U/L) (P<0.05). The liver index was not significantly different (P>0.05) in the experiment group (0.0452±0.0154,0.0455±0.0198,0.0423±0.0074) and the control group (0.0427±0.0089) at 30,60 and 90 days. HE staining and electron microscopy showed that hepatic cells showed pathological changes at 60 d and 90 d of alcohol group.Conclusion Alcohol could damage the liver of T.belangeri chinensis and the peak time of alcohol concentration in blood of T.belargeri chinensis was similar to that of human.