Uridine regulation by the isolated rat liver: perfusion with an artificial oxygen carrier

The isolated rat liver was used to investigate the role of the liver in the regulation of circulating uridine concentrations. A synthetic blood substitute (Fluosol-43) was utilized as an alternative oxygen-carrying perfusion medium to a simplified blood preparation and produced no apparent hepatotoxicity within the perfusion period. The isolated rat liver excreted uridine into a circulating perfusion medium achieving concentrations similar to those found in rat plasma (1.4 +/- 0.6 microM). The mean output of uridine over 2 h was 107 nmol.h-1.g liver-1, but if the perfusate was recirculated the net output of uridine was reduced to 12.7 nmol.h-1.g-1. The rate of depletion of nonphysiological concentrations of circulating uridine was found to be concentration dependent up to 25 microM. At a steady state of circulating uridine, a radioactive uridine spike was cleared with a half-life of 7.4 min and an elimination constant of 0.094 min-1; 30% of the radioactivity appeared in the perfusate as metabolites of uridine within 40 min. Thus the perfused rat liver acts to maintain circulating uridine concentrations similar to those measured in plasma.