Study on engineering hepatic grafts in rats by means of splenic pedicle vascular bundle

Abstract

Objective To explore a new method of forming large-scale implanted engineering liver tissue through injecting the liver tissue-engineering gel within splenic pedicle vascular bundles.Methods 2×107 newborn rat liver cells were mixed with 1 ml fibrin glue to build engineered liver tissue gel.After the spleen of SD rat was removed,the distal ligated,the proximal lapped,splenic pedicle vascular bundle was formed.The engineering liver tissue was injected into the gel through the distal.Forming an of ≥ 1 cm3 volume of the spherical tissue.Liver engineering tissue was implanted under the thigh subcutaneous tissue as the control group.After 2 weeks,compatibility evaluation was observed,and tissue sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (HE).Results In the control group,the implants showed smaller residual tissues [ ( 1.63 ± 0.55) mm diameter] with little blood vessels.In the experiment group,the implants formed a larger tissue [ (7.33 ± 2.40) mm diameter] with a large quantity of blood vessel.Conclusion Mixing with fibrin glue and newborn rat liver cells in the spleen pedicle vascular bundles can form a larger engineering liver tissue having blood vessels. Key words: Tissue engineering; Vascularization; Liver