Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Aug 28, 2015; 21(32): 9544-9553
Published online Aug 28, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i32.9544
Establishment of a hepatic cirrhosis and portal hypertension model by hepatic arterial perfusion with 80% alcohol
Lei Wang, Fu-Liang He, Fu-Quan Liu, Zhen-Dong Yue, Hong-Wei Zhao
Lei Wang, Fu-Liang He, Fu-Quan Liu, Zhen-Dong Yue, Hong-Wei Zhao, Department of Interventional Therapy, Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100038, China
Author contributions: Wang L and He FL contributed equally to this study; Liu FQ designed the research; Wang L performed the research; He FL contributed new reagents or analytic tools; Zhao HW analyzed the data; and Wang L wrote the paper.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the hospital Institutional Review Board.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Dr. Fu-Quan Liu, Department of Interventional Therapy, Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 10, Tie Yi Street, Beijing 100038, China. liufq_sjt@163.com
Telephone: +86-10-63925588
Received: January 25, 2015
Peer-review started: January 26, 2015
First decision: March 10, 2015
Revised: April 27, 2015
Accepted: July 3, 2015
Article in press: July 3, 2015
Published online: August 28, 2015
Abstract

AIM: To determine the feasibility and safety of establishing a porcine hepatic cirrhosis and portal hypertension model by hepatic arterial perfusion with 80% alcohol.

METHODS: Twenty-one healthy Guizhou miniature pigs were randomly divided into three experimental groups and three control groups. The pigs in the three experimental groups were subjected to hepatic arterial perfusion with 7, 12 and 17 mL of 80% alcohol, respectively, while those in the three control groups underwent hepatic arterial perfusion with 7, 12 and 17 mL of saline, respectively. Hepatic arteriography and direct portal phlebography were performed on all animals before and after perfusion, and the portal venous pressure and diameter were measured before perfusion, immediately after perfusion, and at 2, 4 and 6 wk after perfusion. The following procedures were performed at different time points: routine blood sampling, blood biochemistry, blood coagulation and blood ammonia tests before surgery, and at 2, 4 and 6 wk after surgery; hepatic biopsy before surgery, within 6 h after surgery, and at 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 wk after surgery; abdominal enhanced computed tomography examination before surgery and at 6 wk after surgery; autopsy and multi-point sampling of various liver lobes for histological examination at 6 wk after surgery.

RESULTS: In experimental group 1, different degrees of hepatic fibrosis were observed, and one pig developed hepatic cirrhosis. In experimental group 2, there were cases of hepatic cirrhosis, different degrees of increased portal venous pressure, and intrahepatic portal venous bypass, but neither extrahepatic portal-systemic bypass circulation nor death occurred. In experimental group 3, two animals died and three animals developed hepatic cirrhosis, and different degrees of increased portal venous pressure and intrahepatic portal venous bypass were also observed, but there was no extrahepatic portal-systemic bypass circulation.

CONCLUSION: It is feasible to establish an animal model of hepatic cirrhosis and portal hypertension by hepatic arterial perfusion with 80% alcohol, however, the safety of this model depends on a suitable perfusion dose.

Keywords: Alcohol, Hepatic arterial perfusion, Hepatic cirrhosis, Portal hypertension, Animal model

Core tip: We successfully established a porcine hepatic cirrhosis and portal hypertension model by hepatic arterial perfusion with 80% alcohol. The model accurately reproduced the pathophysiological development process similar to that occurring in humans.