Abstract

A method was developed for the estimation of hepatic blood flow in the rat using sequential infusions of one of two model substrates, indocyanine green or galactose. Either substrate was infused to steady state (achieved within 6 min of the start of indocyanine green infusion and within 40 min of the start of galactose infusion) through either the femoral or portal vein, and three steady state blood samples were obtained. Following a 30-min washout period, the same substrate was infused a second time through the alternate blood vessel. Using a pharmacokinetic approach, hepatic blood flow was estimated from the mean steady state concentrations during the two infusions and the infusion rate. The present method yielded hepatic blood flow estimates of 2.03 +/- 0.13 ml/min/g of liver (indocyanine green) and 2.28 +/- 0.49 ml/min/g of liver (galactose) in two groups of four adult male rats. A Monte-Carlo simulation experiment was conducted to assess the potential error introduced into the blood flow calculation by the moderate transhepatic extraction ratio of the two model substrates (0.386 +/- 0.049 for indocyanine green; 0.439 +/- 0.139 for galactose). The simulation experiment predicted calculational errors between 7.4% (indocyanine green) and 19.5% (galactose), based on the hepatic extraction ratio and the precision of the analytical method for the two compounds. The predicted errors were in good agreement with the variability in blood flow estimates observed experimentally (6.5% for indocyanine green; 21.4% for galactose). The steady state approach employed appears to be associated with superior reproducibility as compared to previously reported methods utilizing bolus dose administration of marker compounds and calculations based upon AUC estimates.