Establishment of a new rat model of reversible obstructive jaundice

Objective To establish a rat model of reversible obstructive jaundice and to evaluate its clinical practical value. Methods Sixty SD rats were randomly divided into experimental group, control group and sham group. Each rat was drawn blood for liver function at days 0, 3, 7, 8, 10 and 14. Cholangiography was performed on experimental group 1 months after reliefof obstruction. Results Serum total bilirubin increased significantly at day 3 compared to day 0, and reached the highest level of (189.1±26.9) μmol/L at day 7. When the obstruction was relieved, serum total bilirubin slowly recovered to normal level at day 7; while the serum total bilirubin was significantly higher in control group than that in experiment group [(23.5±3.6) μmol/L vs. (4.3±1.5) μmol/L, P=0.001]. Other serum markers included alanine aminotransferase and glutamyl-transpeptidase followed a similar pattern with serum total bilirubin. Biliary duct dilatation was observed after the obstructive model established. When the obstruction was relieved, the distal biliary duct gradually recovered to normal. Conclusion The rat model of reversible obstructive jaundice provided a new way for future study of obstructive jaundice. Key words: Obstructive jaundice; Rat; Model, animal