We compared antegrade with retrograde liver perfusion when isolating mouse hepatocytes for hepatocyte transplantation. Male mouse hepatocytes were isolated by different perfusion methods and transplanted into the spleen of congeneic female mice. Retrograde perfusion yielded a larger number of cells (4.90 x 10(7)) than antegrade (4.09 x 10(7), p < 0.05), but hepatocytes obtained by antegrade perfusion gave higher engraftment efficiency (p < 0.05). More of the transplanted hepatocytes could be recovered from recipient liver with antegrade perfusion than with retrograde perfusion (p < 0.05). Our results indicate that hepatocytes isolated by antegrade perfusion gave a higher engraftment efficiency.