Abstract
Summary
Rat liver hepatoma cells in monolayer tissue cultures were exposed to various concentrations of ether (E), isoflur-ane (IF), halothane (H), or methoxyflurane (MF) for 5 hr. Loss of intracellular enzymes into surrounding media was used to quanti-tate cytotoxic effects. Drug concentrations in cells and media were monitored during some of the experiments. Dose- and concentration-related cytotoxic effects were evident for all drugs. The order of cytotoxic potency was MF > H > IF > E. The differences were not related to the intracellular concentrations accomplished by each drug. The direct dose-related toxic effects of MF and H on the cell membranes suggest that other than hypersensitivity factors may play a role in the hepatotoxicity from these halo-genated anesthetics. The correlation between the in vitro effects on liver cells and the suggested comparative hepatotoxic potentials of these drugs in man supports the possible usefulness of this method to gather additional information on comparative hepatotoxic potential of general anesthetics.
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