Ischemic preconditioning improves rat kidney allograft function after ischemia/reperfusion injury: the role of tumor necrosis factor-alpha.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to investigate the early protection of ischemic preconditioning (IPC) and its mechanisms in transplanted rat kidneys.


METHODS
Thirty-six male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat donors and recipients were randomly divided into the following groups: sham-operated group (A; n = 6); untreated transplantation group (B; n = 6); and treatment group (C; n = 6). Group A was subjected to exploratory laparotomy. Group B received orthotopic transplantation. Group C underwent a 15-minute period of ischemia followed by a 10-minute reperfusion before orthotopic transplantation. We assessed the serum creatinine (SCr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and to evaluate the degree of kidney graft ischemia/reperfusion injury: tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), IkappaB kinase-beta (IKK-beta), and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappaB) P65 subunit mRNA expressions.


RESULTS
The levels of SCr and BUN in groups C and B were greater than in the sham-operated group (P < .01), but there was no significant difference between the C and B groups at 24 hours after transplantation (P > .05). The degree of renal graft tubular injury in group C was significantly less compared with group B (P < .01). TNF-alpha transcription levels at 24 hours after transplantation were significantly less compared with the non-IPC group (P < .01). However, no significant difference was observed in IKK-beta mRNA and P65 mRNA expressions between groups C and B (P > .05).


CONCLUSIONS
A 1-cycle schedule of preconditioning (15 min/10 min) attenuated renal graft ischemia/reperfusion injury in the early phase. IPC can improve rat kidney allograft function after ischemia/reperfusion injury. The inhibitory effects on TNF-alpha and on positive feedback signaling of TNF-alpha/NF-kappaB pathways may play important roles in renal graft protection in the early stage.
Jia
R P
RP
Department of Urology and Renal Transplantation, Nanjing First Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Pepole's Republic of China. jiaruipengnj@msn.com
Xie
J J
JJ
Luo
F Y
FY
Zhu
J G
JG
D000818:Animals; D017931:DNA Primers; D051550:I-kappa B Kinase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D019194:Ischemic Preconditioning / Q000379:methods*; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D007813:Laparotomy; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D015427:Reperfusion Injury / Q000503:physiopathology*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*
D017931:DNA Primers; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D051550:I-kappa B Kinase