Intraportal perfusion of prostaglandin E-1 attenuates hepatic postischaemic microcirculatory impairments in rats

Background: The efficacy of intraportal perfusion with prostaglandin E-1 (P GE(1)) in decreasing postischaemic hepatic microcirculatory damage was stud ied in rats. Methods: An extrahepatic portosystemic shunt was created by attaching the s pleen to a subcutaneous site on the left lateral wall of the abdomen in mal e Wistar rats weighing between 200 and 350 g. Four weeks later, when the sh unt was mature, the portal vein and hepatic artery were occluded for 60 min . The animals were divided into the following three groups according to the type of intraportal perfusion during the ischaemic phase: group 1 consiste d of untreated animals; group 2, animals perfused with lactated Ringer's so lution; and group 3, animals perfused with PGE(1) (0.1 mu g/kg per min). Th e hepatic microcirculation was observed under an inverted intravital micros cope after the injection of fluorescent dyes to label leucocytes and damage d cells 30 and 60 min after reperfusion. The liver was removed 60 min after reperfusion and stained immunohistochemically using 1A29, an anti-rat inte rcellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) antibody. Results: The leucocyte velocity during reperfusion was lowest in group 1 an d highest in group 3. Of the three groups, group 3 showed the least leucocy te adhesion to the sinusoidal walls and terminal venules, the lowest damage d cell count and the lowest ICAM-1 expression on the sinusoidal walls. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that hepatic perfusion with P GE, markedly alleviates microcirculatory damage associated with ischaemia a nd reperfusion through the inhibition of leucocyte-endothelium interactions . (C) 1999 Blackwell Science Asia Pty Ltd.