Description

Hepatitis is one of the major public health problems. Chronic infection with hepatitis results in progressive liver disease leading to cirrhosis and its complications which include hepatocellular carcinoma.The availability of animal models relevant to apoptosis may facilitate the identification of potential therapies. An established model for studying acute liver failure is by the co-administration of the hepatocyte-specific transcriptional inhibitor D-galactosamine (GalN) and the bacterial endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS).This model of liver damage most closely resembles the changes observed during human hepatitis, and thus provides a useful system for screening and investigating drugs that can be used in the treatment of disease.