[The isolated normothermic hemoperfused porcine leg as model for pharmacological and toxicological investigations] [Article in German]

Abstract

In this short communication we present the isolated normothermic hemoperfused porcine leg as an alternative model for pharmacological and toxicological investigations. Both legs and blood were obtained at a slaughter house. Legs were connected to the perfusion apparatus Mediport Biotechnik and provided with room air and nutrients via a dialysis module over a seven hour period. The perfusion pressure, the perfusion flow, the response to noradrenergic stimuli, the glucose consumption influenced by insulin dosage and the absorption of estradiol were investigated. Once noradrenalin was given perfusion pressure increased as expected and dropped back to normal only a few minutes after administration. Moreover, in the legs treated with insulin, a glucose consumption was detected. Only the legs treated with estradiol showed an increasing concentration of estradiol in plasma throughout the experiment. From the results obtained, it can be concluded that the isolated normothermic hemoperfused porcine leg seems to be a suitable alternative model for the testing of transdermal absorption as well as for the investigation of acute vasoactive substances. Further studies will be performed in our laboratory in order to determine the metabolic condition of this system as well as to ascertain other possibilities of this model in pharmacological and toxicological investigations.