Splenic artery ligation ameliorates hepatic ischemia and reperfusion injury in rats.
OBJECTIVE
Hepatic injury caused by ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) is a key clinical problem associated with liver transplantation and liver surgery. The spleen is involved in hepatic I/R injury. In this study, we examined the effects of splenic artery ligation on hepatic I/R injury.


METHODS
Splenic artery ligation was performed 7 days, 3 days, or just before the hepatic ischemia. Hepatic ischemia was conducted by occluding the blood vessels to the median and left lateral lobes with an atraumatic vascular clamp. Hepatic I/R injury was induced by 45 min of ischemia followed by 120 min of reperfusion.


RESULTS
When splenic artery ligation was performed at 3 days or just before the ischemia, serum aspartate transaminase and alanine transaminase activities, as markers for hepatic injury, decreased as compared with the rats with I/R alone. Splenic artery ligation also reduced the myeloperoxidase activity, an enzyme present in neutrophils, and the expression of interleukin-6 mRNA, a proinflammatory cytokine, in rat livers with I/R. Efficacy of splenic artery ligation on hepatic I/R injury was also confirmed by histology. On the other hand, when splenic artery ligation was conducted 7 days before the ischemia, efficacy of splenic artery ligation was disappeared.


CONCLUSIONS
Splenic artery ligation ameliorates hepatic I/R injury in rats. These results strongly suggest the clinical usefulness of this surgical procedure to protect the liver against I/R injury.
Ito
Koji
K
Department of Pathological Biochemistry, Medical Research Institute, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
Ozasa
Hisashi
H
Noda
Yumi
Y
Horikawa
Saburo
S
D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D000818:Animals; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004621:Embolization, Therapeutic / Q000379:methods; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008026:Ligation; D008297:Male; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology; D009195:Peroxidase / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D015427:Reperfusion Injury / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013157:Splenic Artery / Q000601:surgery*
D015415:Biomarkers; D015850:Interleukin-6; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D009195:Peroxidase; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase