Use of isolated liver perfusion in metabolic studies: ground-laying work in experimental hepatology

Modern metabolic research in hepatology employs non-invasive techniques of the whole organism, and it includes studying the intact organ. Following recent decades of efforts in culturing isolated cells and studying their properties separately, it has become clear that the spatiotemporal organisation of different cell types in a tissue requires studies using models of the intact organ or tissue. This applies particularly to the liver as the major organ of metabolic transformation and activity. The present brief article attempts to illustrate the advantages and limitations of such approaches, focusing on selected aspects of ammonia/urea and glutamine metabolism as an example.