Selective in situ pancreatic perfusion via chronic in vivo celiac artery catheterization

A new technique to catheterize the celiac artery has been developed. This has opened the possibility for direct in vivo, in situ study of pancreatic endocrine cell function in a conscious experimental animal. The catheter is small, soft and placed without arterial ligation so that celiac artery, hepatic, splenic, and pancreatic blood flows were essentially not compromised. Arterial vessel integrity, absence of inflammation, and thrombosis as well as catheter patency were achieved for periods exceeding eight months. Metabolically and hormonally, the presence of the catheter had no effect on the fasting status. However, we found somewhat lower glucose levels and higher insulin levels in the response to oral glucose challenges after catheterization, but these differences were statistically not significant. Glucose loads of 50 mg/kg (0.75 g) administered directly to the pancreas via the celiac artery produced peak insulin levels similar to peripheral glucose loads some tenfold larger. We suggest that this technique may be useful to selectively study the first-pass pancreatic response to a variety of hormones, drugs or metabolic substrates.