Molecular and histological study on the effects of electrolytic electroporation on the liver

Abstract

This study examined the temporal physiological and molecular events following the treatment of the liver with a tissue ablation modality that combined electroporation with electrolysis (E2). Rat liver was treated with an E2 waveform and the tissue examined, 1 h, 3 h, 6 h and 24 h with: H&E, Masson Trichrome, TUNEL stains and Western blot. H&E and TUNEL stains have shown that cell death began to be evident 3 h and hepatocyte regeneration was seen 24 h after treatment. H&E and Masson trichrome have shown that the extracellular matrix and the large lumens, appeared intact after E2. Western blot has shown the following molecular events after E2: cleaved caspase 3-downgraded at 1 h, upgraded at 24 h (apoptosis); cleaved Caspase 1 and cleaved GSDMD-upgraded at 6 h (pyroptosis), RIP3-upgraded at 1 h, MLKL-upgraded at 3 h (necroptosis). The mechanism of cell death was possible initiated by necroptosis pathway. Pyroptosis pathway was also activated. The observation that cell death from E2 was by programed necrosis and the details on the temporal molecular pathways, may have value for the recent attempt to combine electroporation mediated ablation with immunological treatment, by demonstrating that the cell death from E2 involves an inflammatory response and by providing data that could be used to design the optimal timing for the injection of immunological adjuvants.

Keywords: Eelectrolysis; Electroporation; Necroptosis; Pyroptosis; Tissue ablation.