Barrier function of the liver

If any liver function fails to replace it,the result of trauma, death immediately begins. And yet, iron can cope with its function in the event that it works by 10-20%.

Interesting is the fact that the liver is capable of restoring size, even if one quarter of a healthy organ has survived. Regeneration is very slow, and the size is returned by increasing the number of cells. What is the barrier( protective) function of the liver and how it is realized, science has already been established.

The liver recognizes, processes, distributes and stores useful substances for humans. Potentially harmful or useless compounds it neutralizes and removes. The barrier function of the liver is to prevent toxins from penetrating the digestive tract into the bloodstream and to neutralize dangerous compounds that are formed during the metabolism.

Iron is a kind of filter that filters all blood, cleaning and neutralizing it from endogenous and exogenous toxins. The hepatic portal vein delivers blood from the digestive tract to the liver, before it spreads through the bloodstream, it must be processed by cells - hepatocytes.

What substances are toxic to the body

Numerous bacteria that colonize the large intestine play an important role in the decomposition of undigested food particles in the small intestine. Some of them can split cellulose, others help break down the products of the metabolism of carbohydrates and proteins.

During fermentation and decomposition of undecomposed food, as well as as a result of the vital activity of microorganisms, toxic compounds are formed, which through the blood can reach other organs.

Additional hormones, mediators, vitamins that were synthesized in the body or eaten with food, as well as poisonous intermediate or final products of decomposition of substances, for example, ammonia, phenol, acetone, ethanol, ketonic acids, are removed and disinfected by the liver.

How is neutralization of

Harmful substances coming in with food or produced by the body itself, should be removed from the bloodstream. They are neutralized by the gland by chemical reactions such as oxidation, reduction, methylation, or a compound with a molecule.

The liver maintains a constant blood composition, preventing circulation of toxic substances through the bloodstream that can harm individual organs or the body as a whole.

The most common treatment is two phases. The first phase of metabolism consists in changing the toxic molecule, resulting in the creation or release of functional groups, then the connection with other molecules, which will make it possible to remove these metabolites from the body.

During the first phase, one of the following reactions occurs:

• acylation( in an organic compound, the hydrogen atom is replaced by an aetyl moiety);
• oxidation( there is a recoil of electrons by an atom, a molecule or an ion);
• hydrolysis( when the substance reacts with water, it decomposes into water and a new compound);
• methylation( addition of a methyl group: one carbon atom and three hydrogen atoms).

In the second phase, a substance is added to the new compound, which will make it water soluble, for example, glucuronic acid, glycine, taurine. Joining is not always required, since water-soluble substances can be removed from the body after the first change.

The intensity of excretion of a poisonous substance depends on its condensation with proteins, as well as the extent to which hepatic enzymes and blood flow in the liver are active against it.

The elimination of a significant amount of toxic substances occurs immediately, that is, in the systemic circulation if toxins penetrate, then their amount is not so significant, and they are removed upon repeated passage through the gland.

Activity of chemical processes occurring in the liver depends on the age of the person

Substances that dissolve in water are excreted with urine or bile from the human body in an unchanged form. Compounds that are fat-soluble must be changed to less active or to water-soluble substances, otherwise they accumulate in the body and affect its activity.

The transfer of fat-soluble compounds to water-soluble compounds occurs, usually after their binding to glucuronic acid, activated by glucuronyltransferase.

Glucuronic acid helps to neutralize substances that are formed in the intestines due to decay, and other toxic compounds that appear in the tissues after the dissolution of certain compounds.

For example, free bilirubin, harmful to humans, under the action of glucuronic acid forms monoglyukuronid and diglucuronide bilirubin, which is not dangerous and soluble.

Thus, the toxins become water-soluble and excreted in the urine( after detoxification they are already excreted from the body by the kidneys).Hydrophobic compounds or those that have a large molecular weight are transported by bile to the intestine and removed with caloric masses.

Kupfer cells also perform the protective function. These are specialized macrophages that capture and process non-functional blood cells, particles of foreign substances, and they are able to synthesize antibodies.

In the structure of the liver, Kupffer cells take second place after hepatocytes, and their activity is so high that they destroy 99% of the bacteria that penetrated the portal vein from the digestive tract.

What happens when the barrier function of the

gland is disrupted? The liver detoxifies the following substances:

• ammonia. It turns into urea, which is not so toxic to humans;
• ethyl alcohol. Under the action of enzyme oxidation becomes acetic acid;
• phenol, scatol, indole, cresol( occur after protein breakdown).They are combined with glucuronic acid or with sulfuric acid and are transformed into an ethereal acid that is safe for health;
• poisons. After the chemical reaction, the resulting compounds can come in handy;
• microorganisms. They are neutralized by Kupffer cells with the help of lysis or phagocytosis.

With medical therapy, the use of large amounts of alcohol, when interacting with poisons, chemicals, radiation, the liver experiences severe overload. If the toxin is long-lasting, the body ceases to cope with its task and allows harmful compounds to enter the bloodstream.

The speed of chemical processes varies greatly with chronic organ diseases, for example, with hepatitis( inflammation of the liver).If the organ is disturbed, toxins that have not been rendered harmless by the gland enter the bloodstream, resulting in poisoning.

The protective function of the liver decreases when the iron is overloaded with the work of

. It is further aggravated by the fact that the iron is unable to synthesize urea, accordingly the concentration of ammonia increases, it penetrates the brain and adversely affects the blood cells. In severe situations, a hepatic coma may develop.

Kupffer cells of the gland are involved in phagocytosis( capture) of microorganisms and foreign substances. Reduced activity of these cells leads to an inadequate development of the immune response to foreign DNA, respectively, decreases the reactivity of immunity and nonspecific protection.

Symptoms of liver dysfunction

Since the liver performs many functions, the disruption of its functioning leads to various manifestations. The fact that the liver is not in order can indicate the following symptoms:

• paroxysmal pain in the right hypochondrium. Iron does not hurt, because it does not have nerve endings. Pain appears when it is already enlarged in size and affects adjacent structures;
• fast fatigue;
• poor appetite;
• problems with digestion( heartburn, belching, nausea, stool disorders);
• skin and sclera acquire a yellowish color( bilirubin is elevated in the blood);
• autoimmune reactions;
• urine becomes dark in color;
• feces are light;
• is depressed.

If you have similar symptoms, then you need to contact the hepatologist, if you do not have a specialized specialist in the medical institution, you should visit the therapist. After the tests the general practitioner will refer to an infectious disease specialist, an allergist or gastroenterologist.

Depending on the causes of pathology, medication is prescribed( antiviral drugs, glucocorticoids, cytostatics, hepatoprotectors).It is important during the therapy to reduce the functional load on the gland, so it is required to adhere to the therapeutic diet, to exclude the use of alcohol. Taking medication only as agreed with your doctor.