Partial Orthotopic Liver Transplantation in Rats

Abstract

A partial orthotopic liver transplantation technique (70% POLT) for use in rats and comparable with the corresponding recipient operation in the ‘splitting transplantation’ in man was developed. Body weight, liver function, histological and electron-microscopic findings were studied in comparison with whole rat liver transplantation with rearterialization, 30% POLT and corresponding liver resections. After 70 and 30% POLT typical signs of hepatic regeneration were found, but no pathological alterations in the electron-microscopic picture. This POLT model might be helpful for the investigation of unresolved questions in ‘splitting transplantation’.

Function of reduced-size liver transplant in the rat

“…We confirmed in this study that 68% transplantation is feasible in the rat [28]. We also demonstrated that this reduced-96 Fig.…”

“…No significant differences were observed between the groups Phagocytic Liver uptake index (cpm/g liver) size graft seems to function well, as, for example, the PT values did not differ between the groups. Similarly, a previous study demonstrated morphological signs of regeneration after this type of transplantation without any sign of pathology [28]. We used laser Doppler flow to determine the hepatic blood flow, since this technique has previously been shown to be a useful tool for monitoring relative changes in blood flow through the liver [2].…”

“…The transplantation technique used has previously been explained in detail by Steinbauer, Köckerling and colleagues [20,28], and is a modification of the method for total orthotopic liver transplantation previously described [21]. In short, the donor operation was performed through a wide cross incision in the abdomen.…”

Improving Research Practice in Rat Orthotopic and Partial Orthotopic Liver Transplantation: A Review, Recommendation, and Publication Guide

“…Table 1 shows the numerous creative technical solutions elaborated to optimize graft rearterialization in rat OLT and P-OLT [8,12,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39]. …”

“…This emphasizes the need for future studies, further comparing the efficacy of different washout protocols and investigating the role of the aforementioned parameters. In table 6, different protocols, as used by experienced teams, are listed [27,28,30,37,38,54,84,85,86]. …”