Mouse orthotopic liver transplantation: Challenges, achievements, and applications

The surgically challenging mouse orthotopic liver transplant model has provided numerous insights into liver immunobiology, cellular and molecular regulation of liver transplant ischemia-reperfusion injury, liver regeneration, the influence of major histocompatibility complex antigens on transplant outcome, spontaneous transplant tolerance, and regulation of allograft immunity. Nonarterialized and arterialized models have been established. Reduced-size liver transplant models have also been developed and used to determine critical mass and factors that determine tissue injury and regeneration. Since its first description 3 decades ago, the surgical demands of the model have limited its application to a relatively small number of centers focused on basic liver transplant research. Dissemination of and commitment to acquisition of the required technical skills will facilitate the application of cutting-edge experimental approaches to which the mouse model is well-suited and allow important key basic and translational questions in transplant immunology to be addressed.