Meal pattern analysis prior to and following liver transplantation in the rat
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Liver innervation has been suggested to play an important role in the control of food intake (FI) despite the findings (Bellinger and Williams, Am J. Physio. 267:R44, 1994) that first and subsequent meals were unchanged following total liver denervation in rats given a variety of diets. In the present study recipient male rats (Brown Norway, Harlan) were placed in chambers equipped with photobeam computer-activated pellet (45 mg Product # F0165 , Bioserve) feeders. Meal patterns on recipient rats were ascertained prior to surgery. The liver transplant recipient's hepatic portal vein was stripped clean and the donor liver was re-arterialized. A lack of re-innervation was ascertained by histofluorescence. The rats were allowed to return to their pre-surgery body weight (357 vs 355g) and two days (9.5+0.6 days post-op) later meal patterns were determined. Total FI (20.0 vs 18.9g) and number of meals (MNo,8.8 vs 8.4) was similar prior to and after surgery. Dark phase FI (13.5 vs 12.5 g), MNo (5.3 vs 4.9), meal size (MS, 2.7 vs 2.6g), meal duration (MDur, 6.3 vs 5.4 min) and intermeal interval (IMI, 125 vs 141 min) and light phase FI (6.4 vs 6.5 g), MNo (3.5 vs 3.5), MS (1.9 vs 1.9g), MDur (4.8 vs 4.9 min) and IMI (192.4 vs 162 min) were statistically similar prior to and following liver transplantation. These data question the role of liver innervation in the control of FI. Supported by BCD and BUMC Res. Funds.