Objective To establish a modified two-step hepatectomy mouse model with liver partition and portal vein ligation independent of microsurgical techniques, and to verify its effectiveness in stimulating liver regeneration.
Methods Seventy-five C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into ALPPS-microsurgery (ALPPS-micro) group, ALPPS-matrigel sealing (ALPPS-matri) group and matrigel sealing control (Control-matri) group . The ALPPS-micro group and ALPPS-matri group were used to block the portal vein by microscope ligation and matrigel occlusion, respectively; the Control-matri group was used as a control to verify the efficacy and safety of the operation. The operation time, intraoperative bleeding and perioperative survival data of each group were recorded, and blood and liver specimens were collected at different times after operation. and the expression level of Ki-67, to compare the stimulating effect of ALPPS-microsurgery and ALPPS-matrigel occlusion on liver regeneration.
Results Compared with the ALPPS-micro group, the operation time of the ALPPS-matri group was [(19.0±4.6) min vs (37.5±9.3) min, P<0.051, and the intraoperative blood loss was less [(153 ± 39) mL vs ( 317±124) mL, P<0.05], the mortality rate after one-stage operation was lower (4.0% vs. 20.0%, P<0.05). The liver-to-body ratio data and the results of proliferation-related molecular assays suggested that the ALPPS-matri group had a similar effect on stimulating liver regeneration as the ALPPS-micro group.
Conclusions The modified ALPPS model using Matrigel has similar effects on liver regeneration stimulation compared with the traditional ALPPS model based on microsurgery, but with shorter operative time, less intraoperative bleeding, and lower perioperative mortality.