Effect of continuous application of shear stress on liver tissue: continuous application of appropriate shear stress has advantage in protection of liver tissue.

Rapid blood flow changes occur in the liver following a massive resection or in the grafted liver following transplantation, under which shear stress (SS) change induced by the flow change may determine the postoperative results. We observed changes in liver tissue structure and liver-specific function, and consequently assessed SS effect. The cultured liver tissue exposed to continuous application of moderate SS was shown to express and maintain a long-term liver-specific function. There was also evidence showing that destruction of the liver structure was inhibited. However, the cultured liver tissue not exposed to SS or exposed to high SS was shown to lose liver-specific function soon after expression. The liver structure was destroyed in the early stage of incubation. These results suggested that continuous application of appropriate SS has advantages over other types of stresses to protect liver tissue.