American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 16, 116-122, Copyright © 1965 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc.

Lipid Metabolism in the Ex Vivo Perfused Liver

¹ From the Department of Medicine, University of Colorado Medical Center, Denver, Colorado, and the Department of Surgery, University of Kentucky Medical School, Lexington, Kentucky

Changes in plasma lipids during perfusion of the isolated pig liver have been studied. The livers were removed from fasted animals and perfused with homologous oxygenated blood. In ten experiments in which glucose and insulin were continuously added to the perfusate, there was a progressive rise in the plasma triglyceride level. There were no significant changes in the concentration of free fatty acids, cholesterol or phospholipid. In a series of experiments without glucose or insulin, a cottonseed oil emulsion (Lipomul I.V.) was added to the perfusate and the lipids measured for 2 hours. The triglyceride level increased abruptly and then decreased exponentially in most experiments. The free fatty acids increased initially but returned to control levels within 30 to 90 minutes. The total cholesterol and phospholipid did not change appreciably. There was a slight increase in alpha lipoprotein and a profound increase in beta lipoprotein. The rise in beta lipoprotein began after a delay of 20 minutes and thereafter increased progressively.

It was concluded that this preparation can contribute triglyceride to plasma and that it can remove and probably metabolize added triglycerides.