Lung capillary changes in hepatic cirrhosis in the rat.
Schraufnagel, Dean E., Rajul Malik, Vishal Goel, Narumi Ohara, Shih
-Wen Chang.
Departments of Medicine and Pathology, University of Illinois at
Chicago and Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
APStracts 3:0155L, 1996.
The hypoxemia of the hepatopulmonary syndrome may result from dilated
intrapulmonary vascular segments. Knowing the size, density, and
branching frequency of the lung capillaries might confirm this
hypothesis and suggest that the pathogenesis may involve vascular
dilatation or angiogenesis. To investigate these changes, the common
bile duct of rats was tied off to cause biliary cirrhosis. Four weeks
later, the pulmonary vasculature of these animals was cast and the
casts were studied with scanning electron microscopy. In the ligated
animals, evidence for enhancement of the bronchial to pulmonary
circulation was found: cast vasa vasorum of the pulmonary arteries
and cast bronchial veins emptying into pulmonary veins. Ligated
animals had more adherent intracapillary cells per alveolus than the
sham-operated animals. The diameters of all capillary beds were
larger in the ligated animals. The alveolar capillary density was
increased but the branching frequency was not. A few areas suggesting
angiogenesis were found. Inducing biliary cirrhosis enhances the
pulmonary-systemic circulation, increases intracapillary adherent
cells, capillary diameter, and density, and may be associated with
angiogenesis.
Received 23 October 1996; accepted in final form 9 September
1996.
APS Manuscript Number L309-5.
Article publication pending Am. J. Physiol. (Lung Cell. Mol.
Physiology).
ISSN 1080-4757 Copyright 1996 The American Physiological Society.
Published in APStracts on 19 September 1996