AJP - Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology, Vol 249, Issue 6 719-G724, Copyright © 1985 by American Physiological Society
Isolated perfusion of murine liver in situ: technique and validation
P. N. Styne and J. M. Vierling
Although liver perfusion in situ is a valuable technique for the study of
hepatic metabolism, it has rarely been applied to the study of mice. This
is primarily due to the lack of a simple, reproducible technique to
cannulate the delicate portal vein and initiate perfusion without
irreversible hepatic injury. Therefore, we developed a technique to
overcome these obstacles and performed studies to assess the viability of
the perfused murine liver. The inflow catheter assembly permits rapid,
reproducible cannulation of the portal vein and protects the cannulated
vein from the effects of subsequent manipulations. Serial assessments of
perfusion pressure, flow rate, perfusate pH, oxygen consumption, and fluxes
of alanine aminotransferase and potassium indicate that the murine liver
remains viable during perfusion. Moreover, the light and electron
microscopic appearance of perfused livers is indistinguishable from that of
freshly excised control livers. This technique should facilitate perfusion
studies of hepatic metabolism in murine strains with genetic homogeneity
and defined genetic abnormalities of hepatic metabolism.
