Perfusion of rat’s liver with blood: transmitter overflows and gluconeogenesis

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Abstract
A simplified apparatus for the perfusion of the isolated rat liver is described. The operative technique has been developed so as to avoid any interruption in the blood supply to the liver. By the generally accepted criteria of viability the liver remains almost normal for up to 4 h. Perfusion with oxygenated blood through both the hepatic artery and portal vein confers no special advantages over portal perfusion alone, as judged by lactate utilization. No overflows of sympathetic transmitter could be detected from the perfused liver of the rat after nerve stimulation unless catechol-O-methyl transferase inhibitors were present; even in the presence of phenoxybenzamine (to block transmitter uptake by nerve endings) overflows were small. Larger transmitter overflows were obtained from the perfused liver of guinea-pig. Nerve stimulation caused a transient increase in the rate of gluconeogenesis by the rat liver; the maximum response, an increase of 60%, occurred after 5 min stimulation at a frequency of 10 Hz.