The Need to Handicap the Recipient's Native Liver in the Rat Model of Heterotopic Auxiliary Liver Transplantation

摘要

In the rat model of heterotopic auxiliary liver transplantation(HALTx), the opinion varies on whetherand how the recipient's native liver should behandicapped. To avoid atrophy of the transplantedorgan, in this study, two different handicaps wereevaluated and their effects on post-operative animal survivaland liver biology are described. With a soleportacaval shunt (group 1) all rats survived longerthan 3 months. An additional handicap of the liverwith either a 68% partial hepatectomy (68% PH)(group 2), or both a 68% PH and a common bile ductligation (CBDL) (group 3) led to a 100% mortalitywithin 2 days after surgery. When an auxiliary liverwas transplanted to the rats handicapped with a 68%PH (group 4), serum Bilirubin and ALAT valueswere significantly lower than those handicappedwith both a 68% PH and a CBDL (group 5). Autopsyand histology of the long-term survivors revealedthe atrophy of the engrafted livers and the regenerationof the native livers in group 4, whereas itshowed the opposite in group 5. Thus the variousmanipulations of the native liver do influencedifferently the post-transplant animal survival,serum liver biochemistry and the outcome of theengrafted liver in this rat model of HALTx.