FUNCTIONAL AND STRUCTURAL CHARACTERIZATION OF ISOLATED-PERFUSED STINGRAY LIVER INCLUDING EFFECTS OF ISCHAEMIA REPERFUSION/

The morphological and functional characteristics of stingray liver wer e studied, including the effect of ischaemia/reperfusion. With an isol ated perfused model, it was shown that the stingray liver was more res istant than the rat liver to ischaemia/reperfusion injury; this was co nsistent with the differing partial oxygen tensions usually present in the two species. This study confirmed that whereas stingray hepatocyt es form tubules with central bile canaliculi as in other fish, the sti ngray liver has portal triads and a lobular architecture as in mammals . Apoptosis of hepatocytes, demonstrated in the normal liver, was only marginally enhanced by ischaemia/reperfusion. Resulting apoptotic bod ies were phagocytized by macrophage-like cells in hepatocyte tubules. In contrast to rat liver, the stingray liver showed no necrosis after ischaemia-reperfusion. (C) 1998 W.B. Saunders Company Limited.