EVIDENCE THAT TEMPORARY COMPLETE OCCLUSION OF SPLENIC VESSELS PREVENTS MASSIVE EMBOLIZATION AND SUDDEN DEATH ASSOCIATED WITH INTRASPLENIC HEPATOCELLULAR TRANSPLANTATION

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Abstract
It has been reported elsewhere that liver cell suspensions injected at several locations retain some proper hepatic functions (1-3), significantly improve the survival rate of rats with different models of acute fulminant hepatic injury (4-8), correct some congenital enzyme deficiency diseases (9-12), and improve liver function in cirrhotic animals (13, 14). Among several locations, the splenic parenchyma has been shown to be the most suitable place for hepatocellular transplantation (1). Unfortunately, infusion of cells into the splenic pulp is not without risk. In fact, portal hypertension and hepatic embolizations have been described after intrasplenic transplantation of hepatocytes (15) or pancreatic islets or fragments (16). In addition, pulmonary hepatocyte embolizations have been observed in rats with spontaneous (unpublished observations) or surgically induced (17) portosystemic shunts. In this work, we evaluate the efficacy of temporary occlusion of splenic vessels to prevent hepatic and pulmonary embolizations after liver cell transplantation into the spleen in portal hypertension cirrhotic rats with portosystemic shunts.