J.Jpn. Surg. Soc.. 93(1): 26-35, 1992

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Original article

THE DIRECT HEMODYNAMIC EFFECTS OF DOPAMINE ON HEPATIC BLOOD FLOW IN THE DOG
―USE OF DIRECT HEMOPERFUSION (DHP) UNDER HEPATIC VENOUS ISOLATION (HVI)―

We studied the direct effects of dopamine on hepatic blood flow using DHP under HVI. Dopamine was given to mongrel dogs through either the right antecubital vein (group I: n=3), the hepatic artery-HA (group II: n=7) or the portal vein-PV (group III: n=6). In groups II and III, DHP under HVI was performed to eliminate the cardiovascular influence caused by the extraregional distribution of dopamine.
In group I, HA/AO decreased from 2±10 to 29±9% with infusions of dopamine from 1 to 10μg/kg/min. The peak increase in PV/AO was only 14±11%.
In groups II and III, plasma concentrations of dopamine in the hepatic venous blood were reduced to as low as 2.7±1.6% after DHP, and AO flow remained unaltered. Dopamine infusions in doses from 0.25 to 10μg/kg/min through HA and PV resulted in dose dependent reductions of HA/AO from 4±14 and 10±9% to 42±12 and 51±11%, respectively. In contrast, PV/AO remained unchanged. Although α₁ antagonist reversed these hemodynamic effects, no remarkable change was observed with DA₁-antagonist.
In conclusion, dopamine seems to act at the site of either sinusoidal or postsinusoidal level probably as an α-agonist. In addition to dopamine's effect on PV flow, our study indicates that increased attention should be given to its activity in reducing HA flow.

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