A multiscale modelling approach to assess the impact of metabolic zonation and microperfusion on the hepatic carbohydrate metabolism
Fig 9
Influence of the regional blood flow on the regional glucose uptake/production rate of the human liver A Regional distribution of blood flow in a normal human liver assessed by perfusion CT.
The histogram below shows the fractional distribution of blood flow values. The mean blood flow amounts to μ = 44.3 ml/100ml/min. B Simulated regional glucose exchange flux at a glucose plasma concentration of 4 mM (hypoglycemic condition) using the regional blood flow values shown in A as model input for the tissue model. The measured blood flow in a volume element of 100 ml was treated as the integral blood flow through 1.5 · 109 sinusoids. This estimate was based on an average liver volume of 1.5 liter, an average number of 1.5 million lobules and an average number of 1000 sinusoids per lobule. The histogram below shows the fractional distribution of glucose exchange flux values. Note that negative flux values indicate glucose release. The mean glucose production rate of the liver amounts to μ = -131,8 μmol/g/h. C Simulated regional glucose exchange flux at a high glucose plasma concentration of 10 mM (hyperglycemic condition) using the regional blood flow values shown in A as model input for the tissue model. The mean glucose uptake rate of the liver amounts to μ = 75.8 μmol/g/h.