Previous in vivo studies have shown that the presystemic clearance of p.o.-administered levo-isomer of propranolol is inhibited in rats with uranyl nitrate-induced acute renal failure. A series of steady-state single-pass rat liver perfusion studies were performed to explore the probable mechanism of the observed metabolic inhibition. When livers from normal rats were perfused with blood perfus...

1. In the isolated rat kidney, perfused at constant pressure with a medium free from renin substrate, addition of angiotensin I to the perfusate decreases renal 'plasma' flow. 2. A peptide inhibitor, SQ 20881, of converting enzyme reduces the vasoconstrictor effect of angiotensin I up to a maximum of 87%, the degree of inhibition being dose-dependent. 3. The molar ratio of equi-effective doses ...

The relative importance of fatty acid synthesis in triglyceride secretion by perfused livers from lean (normal control) and obese Zucker rats was investigated. Livers from fed animals were perfused in a recirculating system with tritiated water and a constant infusion of oleic acid. Triglyceride secretion was 5 times greater and cholesterol secretion was 35% greater in the obese rat livers. The...

We determined the roles of liver and splanchnic vascular bed in anaphylactic hypotension in anesthetized rats and the effects of anaphylaxis on hepatic vascular resistances and liver weight in isolated perfused rat livers. In anesthetized rats sensitized with ovalbumin (1 mg), an intravenous injection of 0.6 mg ovalbumin caused not only a decrease in systemic arterial pressure from 120 +/- 9 to...

BACKGROUND The beneficial effect of aprotinin, a naturally occurring protease inhibitor, on preservation of organs such as the liver, kidney and lung has been documented. OBJECTIVE To explore the effects of hepatic ischemia and reperfusion on both liver and myocardial function, using a dual isolated perfused organ model with and without aprotinin. METHODS Isolated rat livers were stabilized...

AIMS Ethanol constricts hepatic vessels of isolated perfused livers of rats, but not dogs. However, it is not known whether ethanol constricts or dilates the hepatic vessels in other species such as guinea pigs and mice. In addition, the sites of hepatic venoconstriction induced by ethanol were not known in rat livers. We therefore studied the effects of ethanol on the segmental hepatic vascula...

S. H. ROBINSON (Boston) described a new experimental technique for studying the early labelled component of bilirubin in the ligated bile duct of the Gunn rat. Using 14C bilirubin he measured the total miscible bilirubin pool. In addition, the rate of bile pigment formation following the administration of 2-14C glycine was estimated. This allowed precise assessment of bilirubin and haem product...

Administration of hydrocortisone or cortisone to rats has been shown to produce a marked increase in hepatic tryptophan pyrrolase (1, 2) and tyrosine-cY-ketoglutarate transaminase’ (4, 5) activities. Although present evidence suggests that the rise in tryptophan pyrrolase activity involves the synthesis of new protein (6) and the rise in tyrosine transaminase activity may not (7), the mechanism...