Original Article
Copyright ©2012 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Dec 28, 2012; 18(48): 7194-7200
Published online Dec 28, 2012. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v18.i48.7194
Establishment of a rat liver transplantation model with prolonged biliary warm ischemia time
Xin-Hua Zhu, Jun-Ping Pan, Ya-Fu Wu, Yi-Tao Ding
Xin-Hua Zhu, Jun-Ping Pan, Ya-Fu Wu, Yi-Tao Ding, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing 210008, Jiangsu Province, China
Author contributions: Zhu XH performed the literature review and part of the surgical procedure, prepared the manuscript and did the statistical analysis; Pan JP performed part of surgical procedure and assessment; Wu YF supervised the manuscript preparation and formulated the experimental protocol; Ding YT supervised the manuscript preparation and assisted in the experimental protocol formulation.
Supported by Grants from Jiangsu Provincial Government, China, No. ZX200605
Correspondence to: Ya-Fu Wu, MD, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, No. 321, Zhongshan Road, Nanjing 210008, Jiangsu Province, China. drwuyafu@163.com
Telephone: +86-25-83304616 Fax: +86-25-83317016
Received: September 11, 2012
Revised: October 30, 2012
Accepted: November 11, 2012
Published online: December 28, 2012
Processing time: 141 Days and 19.7 Hours
Abstract

AIM: To investigate the impact of different time points of secondary warm ischemia on bile duct in a rat autologous liver transplantation model with external bile drainage.

METHODS: One hundred and thirty-six male inbred SD rats were randomly assigned to one of four groups (I-IV) according to the secondary warm ischemia time of 0, 10, 20 and 40 min. A rat model of autologous liver transplantation with continuous external biliary drainage under ether anesthesia was established. Ten rats in each group were used to evaluate the one-week survival rate. At 6 h, 24 h, 3 d and 7 d after reperfusion of the hepatic artery, 6 rats were killed in each group to collect the blood sample via the infrahepatic vena cava and the median lobe of liver for assay. Warm ischemia time of liver, cold perfusion time, anhepatic phase, operative duration for biliary external drainage and survival rates in the four groups were analyzed for the establishment of models.

RESULTS: No significant difference was shown in warm ischemia time, anhepatic phase and operative duration for biliary external drainage among the four groups. Five of the 40 rats in this study evaluated for the one-week survival rate died, including three deaths of severe pulmonary infection in group IV. A significant decrease of one-week survival rate in group IV was noted compared with the other three groups. With the prolongation of the biliary warm ischemia time, the indexes of the liver function assessment were significantly elevated, and biliary epithelial cell apoptosis index also increased. Pathological examinations showed significantly aggravated inflammation in the portal area and bile duct epithelial cell injury with the prolonged secondary warm ischemia time. Microthrombi were found in the micrangium around the biliary tract in some sections from groups III and IV.

CONCLUSION: The relationship between secondary warm ischemia time and the bile duct injury degree is time-dependent, and 20 min of secondary warm ischemia time is feasible for the study of bile duct injury.

Keywords: Bile duct; Liver; Transplantation; Warm ischemia; Rat