Effect of realimentation and triiodothyronine on DNA synthesis in intact and partially resected rat liver.

Whereas DNA synthesis in the liver of rats with permanent access to food fell markedly between the 72nd and 96th hour after partial hepatectomy, the decrease in the same post-operative interval in rats realimented after 3 days' starvation was less pronounced. The difference between the values in the control and the experimental group 96 hours after partial hepatectomy was statistically significant for p less than 0.01). In rats given glucose after the operation, 24 hours' realimentation caused a nonsignificant increase in DNA synthesis. The difference between the values 96 h after partial hepatectomy in this group and in the group fed the whole time on the standard diet was statistically significant for p less than 0.001. The administration of triiodothyronine (200 microgram/kg i.g.) to the above groups of rats at the outset of realimentation did not affect the development of changes in liver DNA synthesis. It likewise had no effect on the outcome of the realimentation of rats with an intact, unresected liver fed 3 days on plain glucose. In the intact control rats fed the whole time on the standard laboratory diet, triiodothyronine produced a distinct increase in liver DNA synthesis (p less than 0.01).