Effect of chronic alcohol intake on rat liver microcirculation assessed by the multiple indicator dilution technique

To study the hepatic microcirculatory disturbance in alcoholic liver injury, rats were chronically (8-12 weeks) fed with alcohol via a gastric fistula according to the method of Tsukamoto and French (1986). The hepatic microcirculation was studied by measuring the sinusoidal volume (SV) and the apparent space of Disse (DS) volume using a multiple-indicator dilution technique. Both the SV and the DS volume were significantly decreased in the alcohol-fed rats at 8-12 weeks despite the absence of microscopically detectable hepatic fibrosis. Similar changes were noted in the alcohol-fed and control rats regarding expansion of the SV and the DS volume with alterations in portal pressure. However, since the volumes in the alcohol-fed group increased with the increase of portal pressure, they maintained a steady difference from the control values. These results suggested that the decrease of the SV and the DS volume may have been secondary to compression caused by steatosis and/or hepatocyte enlargement, although a possible role for microscopically undetectable hepatic fibrosis could not be ruled out.