Assessment of liver phagocytic activity using EPR spectrometry and imaging

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the usefulness of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy and imaging in assessing the phagocytic activity of the liver after administration of India ink. We conducted experiments on livers from control rodents and from rodents in which the Kupffer cell population had been depleted by pretreatment with gadolinium chloride. The EPR signal intensity recorded in liver homogenates was about two times lower in GdCl3 treated rats than in control rats. EPR imaging carried out on precision-cut liver slices indicated a good correlation between the depletion of Kupffer cells and the EPR signal intensity.