title: Development of arterial blood supply in experimental liver metastases.
abstract: In this study, we present a mechanism for the development of arterial blood supply in experimental liver metastases. To analyze the arterialization process of experimental liver metastases, we elucidated a few key questions regarding the blood supply of hepatic lobules in mice. The microvasculature of the mouse liver is characterized by numerous arterioportal anastomoses and arterial terminations at the base of the lobules. These terminations supply one hepatic microcirculatory subunit per lobule, which we call an arterial hepatic microcirculatory subunit (aHMS). The process of arterialization can be divided into the following steps: 1) distortion of the aHMS by metastasis; 2) initial fusion of the sinusoids of the aHMS at the tumor parenchyma interface; 3) fusion of the sinusoids located at the base of the aHMSs, which leads to the disruption of the vascular sphincter (burst pipe); 4) incorporation of the dilated artery and the fused sinusoids into the tumor; and 5) further development of the tumor vasculature (arterial tree) by proliferation, remodeling, and continuous incorporation of fused sinusoids at the tumor-parenchyma interface. This process leads to the inevitable arterialization of liver metastases above the 2000- to 2500-mum size, regardless of the origin and growth pattern of the tumor.
authors: First Institute of Pathology and Experimental Cancer Research, Semmelweis University, 1085 Ullõi út 26, Budapest, Hungary.
authors: Katalin
authors: K
authors: Dezso
authors: Edina
authors: E
authors: Bugyik
authors: Veronika
authors: V
authors: Papp
authors: Viktória
authors: V
authors: László
authors: Balázs
authors: B
authors: Döme
authors: József
authors: J
authors: Tóvári
authors: József
authors: J
authors: Tímár
authors: Péter
authors: P
authors: Nagy
authors: Sándor
authors: S
authors: Paku
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001158:Arteries / Q000473:pathology; D008102:Liver Circulation; D008114:Liver Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D055806:Microvessels; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000473:pathology*