title: Characterization and reduction of ischemia/reperfusion injury after experimental pancreas transplantation.
abstract: Reperfusion injury after pancreas transplantation is a cause of early graft pancreatitis. The aim of this study was to quantify pancreatic microcirculation after pancreas transplantation in correlation with cold ischemia time. In a second step the effect of N-acetylcysteine on reperfusion damage was tested. Pancreas transplantation was performed in three different groups of male Lewis rats. Groups 1 and 2 received no special treatment. Cold ischemia time was 1.5 hours in group 1 and 16 hours in groups 2 and 3. In group 3 donor and recipient were both treated with N-acetylcysteine (300 mg/kg) 1.5 hours after reperfusion graft microcirculation was quantified by means of intravital microscopy. Rhodamine-labeled leukocytes, fluoroscein isothiocyanate-labeled erythrocytes, and fluoroscein isothiocyanate-albumin were used as fluorochromes. After a cold ischemia time of 16 hours, functional capillary density, erythrocyte velocity, and leukocyte-endothelium interaction were reduced significantly compared to a cold ischemia time of 1.5 hours (P<0.05). After 16 hours of cold ischemia, treatment with N-acetylcysteine improved all of these parameters (P</=0.05). Ischemia/reperfusion injury after experimental pancreas transplantation is characterized by a disturbance of the pancreatic microcirculation exhibiting a correlation with the duration of cold ischemia. Treatment of donor and recipient with N-acetylcysteine resulted in prevention of cold ischemia-induced microcirculatory disturbance.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mayer
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Thies
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ryschich
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Gebhard
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Herfarth
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Klar
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D008297:Male; D008833:Microcirculation; D010179:Pancreas / Q000098:blood supply*; D016035:Pancreas Transplantation; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D015427:Reperfusion Injury / Q000517:prevention & control*