Can technetium-labelled millimicrospheres be used to measure Kupffer-cell function? An experimental study.

It has been suggested that sodium pertechnetate 99mTc millimicrospheres can be used to measure Kupffer-cell function. We studied animals and humans to show whether the clearance and catabolism of 99mTc-labelled millimicrospheres can be used as a measure of Kupffer-cell function. Comparison with albumin 125I-microaggregates clearance of human serum albumin failed to demonstrate that they can be used for this purpose. We suggest that their blood clearance is mainly an expression of liver blood flow.