Auxiliary partial liver grafting in rats: Effect of host hepatectomy on graft regeneration, and review of literature on surgical technique

Abstract

Auxiliary partial liver transplantation (APLT) is beneficial for fulminant liver failure when there is potential for recovery of the diseased liver. However, the impact of host hepatectomy on regeneration of the grafted liver is unclear. In this study, we modified a previous rat model of auxiliary whole liver transplantation without portal vein reconstruction, and studied the effect of host hepatectomy on regeneration of the cut liver graft. Thirty percent of the liver was heterotopically transplanted, to connect the recipient's left renal artery and vein with the graft's aortic cuff of the hepatic artery and inferior vena cava, respectively, using a cuff technique; 30% of the recipient liver then was cut. The control group was left intact. The liver grafts were weighed preoperatively and 2 weeks postoperatively. This procedure prevented congestion of the graft liver and achieved a high success rate, even when performed by a surgeon who was relatively inexperienced with the technique. The weight of the grafted liver in the host hepatectomized group significantly increased (P < 0.05) compared with that of the control group. We developed an experimental model of APLT and reviewed the literature on rat heterotopic liver transplantation, and compared the surgical techniques.

Rodent models of partial hepatectomies*

“…The classical 70% hepatectomy model in rats is the most popular because it has been extensively studied and can be accomplished in an expedited fashion with a single ligature of the common pedicle (1,13). It is also commonly used in auxiliary liver transplantation models (21).…”

Effects of dual arterial blood supply on liver regeneration in the graft and the host following heterotopic auxiliary liver transplantation

“…Schleimer et al ( 11 ) established the model of auxiliary liver transplantation with the dual arterial blood supply method using a stent of 0.3 mm inner diameter, but observed a functional competition between the transplanted and recipient livers and gradual shrinking of the graft, due to the lack of the hepatotrophic factor of the portal venous system. However, another relevant study ( 12 ) demonstrated that the amount of the residual host liver affected the weight of the transplanted liver, in the absence of the transplanted liver in rats receiving portal venous blood supply. When 30% of the host liver was resected, obvious hyperplasia of the transplanted liver was observed.…”

Surgical Model of Auxiliary Partial Liver Transplantation in the Rat

“…The primary goal of this article is to provide a simple and streamlined protocol that can also be easily adopted by scientists without microsurgery training background. Rat auxiliary liver transplantation model was developed during the early stages of experimental organ transplantation to study immunology, physiology, and metabolism 14,[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] . Thus, several approaches have been developed.…”