The production and clearance of endothelin and its influence on kidney function after liver transplantation in rats.
To assess the involvement of endothelin-1 (ET-1) in rat liver allograft rejection, we evaluated ET-1 expression in tissues obtained from BN (RT1n) to BN rats (group 1), and DA (RT1a) to BN rats (group 2). The ET-1 levels in group 1, determined by radioimmunoassay, remained low in the serum, liver, and bile, but in group 2, they peaked on postoperative day (POD) 5 in the liver, kidney, bile, and urine, at 344 +/- 31.6 pg/gwet, 306 +/- 97.4 pg/gwet, 1008 +/- 258 pg/day, and 156 +/- 45 pg/day, respectively, whereas levels in the serum peaked on POD 7 at 38.7 +/- 13.1 pg/ml. In the portal vein (PV) ET-1 showed extremely high levels without statistical difference between groups 1 and 2, at 93.0 +/- 15.5, and 83.0 +/- 9.84 pg/ml on POD 7, respectively. However, in the suprahepatic vena cava (SHVC) and the abdominal aorta (AO), the ET-1 levels were statistically higher in group 2 compared to group 1 (P < 0.01). Immunohistochemical staining showed decreased staining of the liver and kidney in group 2 on POD 7. In conclusion, increasing levels of ET-1 were released from the liver and kidney during the early stage of rejection, resulting in the high ET-1 levels in these tissues, which were cleared promptly. However, an increased production of ET-1 was not observed in association with the release of ET-1.
Shiraishi
M
M
First Department of Surgery, University of Ryukyu, School of Medicine, Okinawa, Japan.
Kusano
T
T
Hiroyasu
S
S
Hara
J
J
Aihara
T
T
Muto
Y
Y
D000818:Animals; D001806:Blood Urea Nitrogen; D003401:Creatine / Q000097:blood; D019332:Endothelin-1 / Q000378:metabolism*; D006084:Graft Rejection; D007668:Kidney / Q000502:physiology*; D008099:Liver / Q000737:chemistry*; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D008297:Male; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D051381:Rats; D011914:Rats, Inbred BN
D019332:Endothelin-1; D003401:Creatine