Heterotopic partial liver transplantation(HLT) in the rat is relatively simple method to orthotopic liver transplantation. Addition of mesocaval shunt which diverts almost intestinal blood to systemic circulation provides only splenopancreaticoduodenal blood for the graft. The usefulness of our novel model is first, evaluating the pure effect of pancreaticoduodenal blood to liver regeneration, second, evaluating the contribution of splanchnic viscera to liver reperfusion injury. In the first group (conventional HLT, C-HLT), the thirty percent graft liver was transplanted just below the host liver with whole portal blood input. In the second group(mesocaval shunt added HLT, M-HLT), the superior mesenteric vein was diverted to systemic circulation and portal blood from the spleen-pancreas-duodenum supplied the graft. The graft weight at 2 posttransplant weeks was significantly increased in the C-HLT group compared with the M-HLT group, which suggests pancreatic blood alone is not sufficient to regenerate the partial liver grafts. There was no significant difference in the graft survival between two groups, which implies the influence of intestine to postreperfusion injury is negligible.
Animals ; Graft Survival ; Intestines ; Liver Regeneration ; Liver Transplantation* ; Liver* ; Mesenteric Veins ; Models, Animal* ; Rats* ; Reperfusion Injury ; Transplants ; Viscera