Bilirubin Toxicity in Hepatoma Cells

BILIRUBIN is present in toxic concentrations in foetuses and premature infants with haemolysis due to blood group incompatibility¹. Hyperbilirubinaemia in the neonate has been associated with irreversible nuclear damage in the brain and other tissues^2,3 and experimental evidence suggests that bilirubin interferes with oxidative phosphorylation^4,5. We have shown that bilirubin inhibits the growth of cells which share with developing tissues the ability to derive an appreciable part of their energy from extramitochondrial processes.