EFFECT OF CHRONIC ALCOHOL INTAKE ON RAT-LIVER MICROCIRCULATION ASSESSED BY THE MULTIPLE INDICATOR DILUTION TECHNIQUE

To study the hepatic microcirculatory disturbance in alcoholic liver i njury, rats were chronically (8-12 weeks) fed with alcohol via a gastr ic fistula according to the method of Tsukamoto and French (1986). The hepatic microcirculation was studied by measuring the sinusoidal volu me (SV) and the apparent space of Disse (DS) volume using a multiple-i ndicator dilution technique. Both the SV and the DS volume were signif icantly decreased in the alcohol-fed rats at 8-12 weeks despite the ab sence of microscopically detectable hepatic fibrosis. Similar changes were noted in the alcohol-fed and control rats regarding expansion of the SV and the DS volume with alterations in portal pressure. However, since the volumes in the alcohol-fed group increased with the increas e of portal pressure, they maintained a steady difference from the con trol values. These results suggested that the decrease of the SV and t he DS volume may have been secondary to compression caused by steatosi s and/or hepatocyte enlargement, although a possible role for microsco pically undetectable hepatic fibrosis could not be ruled out.