A pharmacological analysis of prostaglandin E1 on portal blood flow after partial hepatectomy in rats.

Portal venous flow (PVF) and portal venous pressure (PVP) were examined after the jugular or portal injection of Prostaglandin E1 (PGE) in rats partially hepatectomized by either 40% or 66%. In the 66% hepatectomized animals, the jugular injection of PGE at 5.0 micrograms/kg/min produced an increase in PVF concomitant with a fall in systemic arterial pressure (SAP), while PVP remained unchanged. The portal injection of PGE at 0.5 micrograms/kg/min increased PVF to a level equivalent to that evoked by the jugular injection of 5.0 micrograms/kg/min PGE, without any change in SAP. PVP was reduced synchronistically with an increase in PVF. The PVF response to a portal injection of PGE at 0.5 micrograms/kg/min was not reproduced in liver intact rats. These results suggest that PGE is potent in increasing PVF in the partially resected condition of the liver and that the portal vascular bed is involved in this response.