A total of 14 pairs of donors and recipients from syngeneic male mice were used for arterialized OLT. The grafts were stored in University of Wisconsin solution at 4掳C for less than 4聽h, and the recipients underwent OLT using a two-cuff technique. The arterial reconstruction was facilitated by the use of a single stent connecting the donor liver artery segment to the recipient common hepatic artery.
All 14 recipients survived with the time for arterial reconstruction ranging from 4-10聽min. Patency of the artery was confirmed by transecting the artery near the graft 2 and 14聽d after transplantation. At day 2, five of the six arteries transected were patent and at day 14, seven of the remaining eight were patent for an overall patency rate of 85.7%.
The stent-facilitated arterial reconstruction can be done quickly with a high patency rate. This model expands the translational research efforts to address marginal livers such as steatotic livers.