title: Short-term immunosuppressive treatment of the donor ameliorates consequences of ischemia/ reperfusion injury and long-term graft function in renal allografts from older donors.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Grafts from so-called "marginal donors" are increasingly used for organ transplantation. The combination of reduced organ quality and additional inflammatory damages may be particularly detrimental in these grafts. In a previous study, we showed the beneficial effects on long-term graft outcome of "suboptimal" grafts by the induction of heme oxygenase-1. Here we tested the impact of short-term donor treatment with established immunosuppressants.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twelve-month-old Fischer 344 donor rats either were treated with prednisolone, mycophenolate mofetil, RAD, or FK506 24 hr and 1 hr before organ harvesting or remained untreated. Renal allografts were perfused with University of Wisconsin solution and kept at 4 degrees C for an ischemic period of 2 hr. Morphologic, immunohistologic, and real time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analyses for relevant markers were performed at serial intervals and at the end of the observation period (6 months).
  
  
  RESULTS
  All animals survived the observation period, although the ischemic time resulted in accelerated chronic graft dysfunction. Grafts from donors treated with prednisolone or FK506 demonstrated significantly improved graft function and structure by 6 months. Mononuclear infiltrates were significantly reduced by the end of the observation period, whereas intragraft mRNA levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-10 were significantly altered during the early period after transplantation. Minor improvements in graft function and histologic alterations of suboptimal grafts were observed after pretreatment with mycophenolate mofetil and RAD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Donor treatment with approved immunosuppressants, in particular prednisolone or FK506, represents a novel therapeutic strategy of clinical relevance, most importantly when using grafts from marginal donors.
authors.affiliation: Department of General and Transplantation Surgery, Charite-Campus Virchow Clinic, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Anja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Reutzel-Selke
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zschockelt
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Denecke
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Bachmann
authors.forename: Anke
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jurisch
authors.forename: Johann
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pratschke
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schmidbauer
authors.forename: Hans-Dieter
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Volk
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Neuhaus
authors.forename: Stefan G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Tullius
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D000954:Antigens, Surface / Q000235:genetics; D016207:Cytokines / Q000235:genetics; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000276:immunology; D006085:Graft Survival / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology; D006419:Heme Oxygenase (Decyclizing) / Q000378:metabolism; D051547:Heme Oxygenase-1; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D008297:Male; D009173:Mycophenolic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology; D011239:Prednisolone / Q000494:pharmacology; D011524:Protoporphyrins / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D015427:Reperfusion Injury / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016559:Tacrolimus / Q000494:pharmacology; D014019:Tissue Donors; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
chemical_list: D000954:Antigens, Surface; D016207:Cytokines; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D011524:Protoporphyrins; C007095:cobaltiprotoporphyrin; D011239:Prednisolone; D006419:Heme Oxygenase (Decyclizing); D051547:Heme Oxygenase-1; D009173:Mycophenolic Acid; D016559:Tacrolimus