Na Yao; Lin Qian; Chubin Luo; Jiayan Yan; Xinrong Yang; Weizhong Wu & Jian Zhou

Rodents are frequently utilized in constructing animal models for various liver-related studies, necessitating a comprehensive understanding of liver lobe structures. However, detailed descriptions of the biliary system in mice have been lacking. In this study, we employed intravenous indocyanine green (ICG) injection combined with common bile duct ligation to visualize extrahepatic bile ducts under natural light. We observed that bile duct branches from each lobe typically drained into the superior common bile duct near the gallbladder. Additionally, we addressed the challenge of ligating the portal vein of the left lateral lobe (LLL) in mice, which had not been successfully achieved in previous rodent models of portal vein ligation (PVL) or associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy (ALPPS). By examining the liver vasculature structure under a 25¥ microscope with ICG staining, we categorized the LLL portal vein into four patterns. The majority of mice exhibited distinct portal vein branches for the LLL and left middle lobe (LML), contrasting with rats. Selecting the generally or fully exposed types, skilled microsurgeons could effectively ligate the LLL portal vein using our method. On postoperative day 3 (POD 3), the LLL appeared viable without significant necrosis, and the weight ratio of the future liver remnant (FLR) to body weight, as well as the number of Ki67-positive nuclei, were significantly increased, indicating that LLL portal vein ligation induced liver regeneration.

KEY WORDS: Indocyanine green; Bile duct; Portal vein ligation; Liver regeneration.

YAO, N.; QIAN, L.; LUO, C.; YAN, J.; YANG, X.; WU, W. & ZHOU, J. In vivo visualization of extrahepatic bile ducts in mice using indocyanine green staining and its application in portal vein ligation of the left lateral lobe. Int. J. Morphol., 43(3):1038-1044, 2025.