Hepatic ultrastructure in a neonatal piglet model of intestinal failure-associated liver disease (IFALD)

This study was designed to evaluate liver disease in neonatal piglets with surgical short bowel syndrome causing intestinal failure with partial parenteral nutrition dependence. The short bowel piglets had 75% surgical resection of distal small intestine, including all ileum and cecum, and were compared with sham controls, without resection, and to healthy sow-reared controls. After 18 days of combined parenteral and enteral nutrition in short bowel and sham piglets, liver tissue was collected for quantitative and semi-quantitative histological and ultrastructural evaluation. The short bowel piglets developed biochemical and histological cholestasis, not observed in sham and control piglets. Ultrastructural examination revealed bile canaliculus dilation with bile plugging, microvillus flattening and disappearance, but without abnormalities of the pericanalicular zone. Interestingly, these data are similar to bile canaliculus changes seen in human neonates with IFALD supporting an initial consideration of this model to elucidate the pathogenesis of IFALD.