Minireveiws
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2020. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jul 21, 2020; 26(27): 3889-3898
Published online Jul 21, 2020. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v26.i27.3889
Details determining the success in establishing a mouse orthotopic liver transplantation model
Ting Li, Zheng Hu, Lei Wang, Guo-Yue Lv
Ting Li, Guo-Yue Lv, Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130021, Jilin Province, China
Zheng Hu, Key Laboratory of Organ Regeneration and Transplantation of Ministry of Education, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130061, Jilin Province, China
Zheng Hu, National-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Animal Models for Human Diseases, Changchun 130061, Jilin Province, China
Lei Wang, Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130021, Jilin Province, China
Author contributions: Li T performed the study and wrote the paper; Hu Z contributed to revision of the manuscript; Wang L helped to perform the research; Lv GY designed and supervised the study.
Supported by the Science and Technology Department of Jilin Province, No. 20180622004JC; the Finance Department of Jilin Province, No. 2017F004; and The First Hospital of Jilin University, No. LCPYJJ2017007.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflict of interest to disclose.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (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/
Corresponding author: Guo-Yue Lv, PhD, Professor, Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, First Hospital of Jilin University, No. 71, Xinmin Street, Changchun 130021, Jilin Province, China. lgy08@sina.com
Received: March 17, 2020
Peer-review started: March 17, 2020
First decision: April 25, 2020
Revised: May 3, 2020
Accepted: June 17, 2020
Article in press: June 17, 2020
Published online: July 21, 2020
Processing time: 126 Days and 1.4 Hours
Abstract

Liver transplantation (LT) is currently the only effective treatment option for end-stage liver disease. The importance of animal models in transplantation is widely recognized among researchers. Because of the well-characterized mouse genome and the greater diversity and availability of both genetically modified animals and research reagents, mouse orthotopic LT (MOLT) has become an ideal model for the investigation of liver biology, tissue injury, regulation of alloimmunity and tolerance induction, and the pathogenesis of specific liver diseases. However, due to its complicated and technically demanding procedure, the model has merely been used by only a few research groups in the world for years. For a new learner, training lasting at least a couple of months or even years is required. Most of the investigators have emphasized the importance of elaborate techniques and dedicated instruments in establishing a MOLT model, but some details are often neglected. The nontechnical details are also significant, especially for researchers who have little experience in mouse microsurgery. Here, we review and summarize the crucial technical and nontechnical details in establishing the model of MOLT based on scientific articles and our experience in six aspects: animal selection, anesthesia, perioperative management, organ procurement, back-table preparation, and implantation surgery. We aim to enable research groups to shorten the learning curve and implement the mouse LT procedure with high technical success.

Keywords: Mouse orthotopic liver transplantation; Animal selection; Anesthesia; Perioperative management; Organ procurement; Back-table preparation; Implantation surgery

Core tip: As an ideal model for the investigation of basic medical research on liver transplantation (LT), the mouse orthotopic LT (MOLT) model, has been used by only a few research groups worldwide. Most of the investigators attach importance to technical factors in establishing the model. We review and summarize the crucial technical and nontechnical details in establishing the model of MOLT based on the literature and our experience. We aim to enable research groups to shorten the learning curve and implement the mouse LT procedure with high technical success.