Heterotopic Auxiliary Whole Liver Rat Transplant Model Utilizing a Hepaticoureterostomy for Allograft Rejection StudiesBret Verhoven 1, Weifeng Zeng 2, Peter Chlebeck 1, Kristina Matkowskyj 3,4,5, Heather Jennings 1, Samuel Poore 2, David Al-Adra 1
1Department of Surgery, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2Department of Surgery, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, University of Wisconsin, 3Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 4UW Carbone Cancer Center, 5William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans' Hospital
The rat heterotopic auxiliary liver transplant protocol described here offers a practical investigational tool for exploring mechanisms of hepatic allograft rejection. This model helps to alleviate the surgical hurdles and animal stress of orthotopic liver transplantation in rats.
