Endothelin-1 and in vitro evidence of renal artery vasoconstriction after liver transplantation.
Twelve pigs underwent orthotopic liver transplantation. The mean endothelin-1 (ET-1) levels in the serum samples of the recipient animals 1 h after reperfusion of the graft (6.2 +/- 1.5 pg/ml) was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than in pretransplantation samples (3.2 +/- 0.6 pg/ml). Serum blood urea nitrogen (BUN) 24 h after transplantation was 13.8 +/- 5.9 mg/dl, which was significantly higher than before transplantation (6.4 +/- 2.2 mg/dl). There was a positive correlation between the serum BUN and ET-1 (r = 0.62, P < 0.05). An in vitro isometric tension study was performed for the contractility response rate of the intact renal artery in the bath chamber containing the serum of the corresponding recipient animals. The mean contractility response rates were higher with the serum obtained after reperfusion of the graft (66.9 +/- 32.4%) than with those obtained before transplantation (18.3 +/- 9.2%) when compared to a standard contractility rate of 100% with 40 mM KCI. Moreover, these contractility response rates were significantly reduced (32.8 +/- 21.0%) with the addition of the ET-1 receptor antagonist FR139317. The results of the present study demonstrated that the liver transplantation was associated with elevation of ET-1 in the serum of the recipient animals. It was considered that ET-1 in the serum caused a direct vasoconstriction of the renal artery in vitro. This may help to explain the renal dysfunction that is often seen in the recipients of clinical liver transplantation.
Nagoya University, School of Medicine, Department of Surgery II, Japan.
I
I
Yokoyama
A
A
Hayakawa
T
T
Kobayashi
M
M
Negita
S
S
Hayashi
M
M
Yasutomi
A
A
Katayama
K
K
Uchida
H
H
Takagi
D000818:Animals; D001381:Azepines / Q000494:pharmacology; D065128:Endothelin Receptor Antagonists; D019332:Endothelin-1 / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D007211:Indoles / Q000494:pharmacology; D007511:Ischemia / Q000378:metabolism; D007537:Isometric Contraction; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D012077:Renal Artery / Q000378:metabolism*; D015424:Reperfusion; D013552:Swine / Q000378:metabolism; D014508:Urea / Q000097:blood; D014661:Vasoconstriction
D001381:Azepines; D065128:Endothelin Receptor Antagonists; D019332:Endothelin-1; D007211:Indoles; C079574:FR 139317; D014508:Urea