Beneficial effects of pentoxifylline pretreatment in non-heart-beating donors in rats.
BACKGROUND
Pentoxifylline (PTX) pretreatment of recipients was shown to protect against liver graft failure from ischemia-reperfusion injury after orthotopic rat liver transplantation. It has also been shown that PTX protects against normothermic ischemia-reperfusion injury to the liver in lobar ischemia model in the rat. Whether PTX can benefit the liver procured from non-heart-beating donors (NHBDs) with up to 9 hr of cold ischemia is unknown.


METHODS
Donor and recipient rats were pretreated with intraperitoneal PTX (50 mg/kg) 1 hr before cardiac arrest and transplantation, respectively. Grafts were transplanted 0, 30, and 60 min after cardiac arrest with additional 1 and 9 hr of cold ischemia in both PTX-pretreated or untreated (control) groups (10 rats per group). PTX (25 mg/kg/day) was continuously given to the surviving rats for 5 days postoperatively. Recipient survival rates, serum enzyme levels, and histopathological examination of postreperfusion liver biopsies were all analyzed.


RESULTS
The survival rates, serum enzyme levels, and postreperfusion histology were significantly improved in groups pretreated with PTX compared to the controls.


CONCLUSIONS
Donor and recipient PTX pretreatment significantly improves the viability of the liver grafts procured from NHBDs.
Astarcioğlu
H
H
Department of General Surgery, Dokuz Eylül University School of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey.
Karademir
S
S
Unek
T
T
Ozer
E
E
Menekay
S
S
Coker
A
A
Astarcioğlu
I
I
D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D000818:Animals; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood; D015925:Cryopreservation; D006085:Graft Survival / Q000187:drug effects*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase / Q000097:blood; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D008297:Male; D009336:Necrosis; D009926:Organ Preservation; D010431:Pentoxifylline / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010726:Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013997:Time Factors
D010726:Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase; D010431:Pentoxifylline