Normothermic Ex Vivo Liver Machine Perfusion in Mouse

This protocol presents an optimized erythrocytes-free NEVLP system using mouse livers. Ex vivo preservation of mouse livers was achieved by employing modified cannulas and techniques adapted from conventional commercial ex vivo perfusion equipment. The system was utilized to evaluate the preservation outcomes following 12 h of perfusion. C57BL/6J mice served as liver donors, and the livers were explanted by cannulating the portal vein (PV) and bile duct (BD), and subsequently flushing the organ with warm (37 °C) heparinized saline. Then, the explanted livers were transferred to the perfusion chamber and subjected to normothermic oxygenated machine perfusion (NEVLP). Inlet and outlet perfusate samples were collected at 3 h intervals for perfusate analysis. Upon completion of the perfusion, liver samples were obtained for histological analysis, with morphological integrity assessed using modified Suzuki-Score through Hematoxylin-Eosin (HE) staining. The optimization experiments yielded the following findings: (1) mice weighing over 30 g were deemed more suitable for the experiment due to the larger size of their bile duct (BD). (2) a 2 Fr (outer diameter = 0.66 mm) polyurethane cannula was better suited for cannulating the portal vein (PV) when compared to a polypropylene cannula. This was attributed to the polyurethane material's enhanced grip, resulting in reduced catheter slippage during the transfer from the body to the organ chamber. (3) for cannulation of the bile duct (BD), a 1 Fr (outer diameter = 0.33 mm) polyurethane cannula was found to be more effective compared to the polypropylene UT - 03 (outer diameter = 0.30 mm) cannula. With this optimized protocol, mouse livers were successfully preserved for a duration of 12 h without significant impact on the histological structure. Hematoxylin-Eosin (HE) staining revealed a well-preserved morphological architecture of the liver, characterized by predominantly viable hepatocytes with clearly visible nuclei and mild dilation of hepatic sinusoids.