A research group led by Professor Yoshiakira Kanai of the Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Tokyo has developed a new cholangiography method that uses food dye to visually evaluate abnormalities of the gallbladder wall and local bile flow. The study was published in Scientific Reports.
Cholestasis is a disorder of bile secretion from the liver to the duodenum. Because cholangiography is helpful in diagnosing and treating the site and cause of congestion, there is a need for improved visualization of bile flow in the intra- and extrahepatic bile ducts before and after surgery. Currently, fluorescent cholangiography is widely used in clinical practice to improve the visibility of biliary pathways and bile dynamics.
The research group has found that intraperitoneal administration of the food dye Fast Green FCF (FG, also known as "Green No. 3") to intrauterine embryos in maternal mice allows for evaluation of cholestasis in the fetal liver. However, it has remained unclear whether FG cholangiography is effective for bile dynamics in adult mice and medium- to large-sized animals such as dogs and goats.
In this study, they confirmed that FG cholangiography had improved the visibility of extrahepatic bile ducts in dogs, goats, and other animals. Specifically, using FG allowed for localizing where cholestasis occurred and visually evaluating structural abnormalities of the bile duct wall and the bile flow in the gallbladder in a simple manner in adult mouse models of cholestatic diseases. Furthermore, video analysis of the gallbladder in 12-hour fasted adult mice as a model of gallbladder wall hypoplasia demonstrated that abnormalities in bile concentration could be evaluated based on differences in diffusion patterns after FG influx.
Cholangiography using a food dye is distinct from cholangiography using conventional fluorescent contrast media in that the former method allows for visual evaluation of bile flow, a feature suggesting that food-dye-based cholangiography may open the possibilities of easy analysis of bile excretion dynamics in a wide range of applications in fields of veterinary medicine and human medicine, from basic and clinical research to educational training in animal anatomy and other areas.
Journal Information
Publication: Scientific Reports
Title: Versatile application of fast green FCF as a visible cholangiogram in adult mice to medium-sized mammals
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-84355-7
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